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Daily Strength for Daily Needs 



Daily Strength 

for Daily Needs 

Selected by the Editor of 



a Joy and Strength for the Pilgrim's Day/ 
"Quiet Hours," etc./ 



As thy days, so shall thy strength be" 



Boston 

Little, Brown, and Company 
1901 



THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two Cop»e* Recsjveo 

AUG. 19 1901 

Copyright £* tr 
CLASS <2-XXa Ns, 
COPY B. 



Copyright, 1884, 1 901, 
By Mary W. Tileston. 



All rights reserved 



UNIVERSITY PRESS • JOHN WILSON 
AND SON • CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. 



EM 2 
J & 



T 



PREFACE 

HIS little book of brief selections in prose 
and verse, with accompanying texts of 
Scripture, is intended for a daily companion and 
counsellor. These words of the goodly fellow- 
ship of wise and holy men of many times, it is 
hoped may help to strengthen the reader to 
perform the duties and to bear the burdens of 
each day with cheerfulness and courage. 

MARY WILDER TILESTON. 



January i 



They go from strength to strength. — Ps. 
lxxxiv. 7. 

First the blade, then the ear, after that the full 
corn in the ear. — Mark iv. 28. 

* Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, 
As the swift seasons roll ! 
Leave thy low-vaulted past ! 
Let each new temple, nobler than the last, 
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, 

Till thou at length art free, 
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea ! 

O. W. Holmes. 

HIGH hearts are never long without hear- 
ing some new call, some distant clarion 
of God, even in their dreams \ and soon 
they are observed to break up the camp of ease, 
and start on some fresh march of faithful ser- 
vice. And, looking higher still, we find those 
who never wait till their moral work accumu- 
lates, and who reward resolution with no rest ; 
with whom, therefore, the alternation is instan- 
taneous and constant ; who do the good only to 
see the better, and see the better only to achieve 
it ; who are too meek for transport, too faithful 
for remorse, too earnest for repose; whose wor- 
ship is action, and whose action ceaseless aspira- 
tion. 

J. Martineau. 



January 2 



The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy 
coming in from this time forth, and even for ever- 
more. — Ps. cxxi. 8. 

Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all 
generations. — Ps. xc. I. 



With grateful hearts the past we own ; 
The future, all to us unknown, 
We to Thy guardian care commit, 
And peaceful leave before Thy feet. 

P. Doddridge. 



WE are like to Him with whom there is 
no past or future, with whom a day 
is as a thousand years, and a thousand 
years as one day, when we do our work in the 
great present, leaving both past and tuture to 
Him to whom they are ever present, and fearing 
nothing, because He is in our future as much as 
He is in our past, as much as, and rar more than 
we can feel Him to be, in our present. Par- 
takers thus of the divine nature, resting in that 
perfect All-in-all in whom our nature is eternal 
too, we walk without fear, full of hope and 
courage and strength to do His will, waiting for 
the endless good which He is always giving as 
fast as He can get us able to take it in. 

G. Macdonald. 



January 3 



3 



As thy days, so shall thy strength be. — Deut. 
xxxiii. 25. 

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. — 
Matt. vi. 34. 

Oh, ask not thou, How shall I bear 

The burden of to-morrow ? 
Sufficient for to-day, its care, 

Its evil and its sorrow 5 
God imparteth by the way 
Strength sufficient for the day. 

J. E. Saxby. 

HE that hath so many causes of joy, and so 
great, is very much in love with sorrow 
and peevishness, who loses all these 
pleasures, and chooses to sit down upon his little 
handful of thorns. Enjoy the blessings of this 
day, if God sends them ; and the evils of it bear 
patiently and sweetly : for this day only is ours, 
we are dead to yesterday, and we are not yet 
born to the morrow. But if we look abroad, 
and bring into one day's thoughts the evil of 
many, certain and uncertain, what will be and 
what will never be, our load will be as intoler- 
able as it is unreasonable. 

Jeremy Taylor. 



January 4 



-If we sin, we are Thine, knowing Thy power: 
but we will not sin, knowing that we are counted 
Thine. For to know Thee is perfect righteousness : 
yea, to know Thy power is the root of immortality. 
Wisdom of Solomon xv. 2, 3. 



Oh, empty us of self, the world, and sm, 

And then in all Thy fulness enter in 5 

Take full possession, Lord, and let each thought 

Into obedience unto Thee be brought ; 

Thine is the power, and Thine the will, that we 

Be wholly sanctified, O Lord, to Thee. 



TAKE steadily some one sin, which seems 
to stand out before thee, to root it out, 
by God's grace, and every fibre of it. 
Purpose strongly, by the grace and strength of 
God wholly to sacrifice this sin or sinful in- 
clination to' the love of God, to spare it not, 
until thou leave of it none remaining, neither 
root nor branch. 

Fix, by God's help, not only to root out this 
sin, but to set thyself to gain, by that same help, 
the opposite grace. If thou art tempted to be 
angry, try hard, by God's grace, to be very 
meek ; if to be proud, seek to be very humble. 

E. B. Pusey. 



January 5 5 



That He might present it to Himself a glorious 
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such 
thing; but that it should be holy and without 
blemish. — Eph. v. 27. 

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual 
house. — 1 Peter ii. 5. 

One holy Church of God appears 

Through every age and race, 
Unwasted by the lapse of years, 

Unchanged by changing place. 

S. Longfellow. 

A TEMPLE there has been upon earth, a 
spiritual Temple, made up of living 
stones ; a Temple, as I may say, com- 
posed of souls; a Temple with God for its light, 
and Christ for the high priest ; with wings of 
angels for its arches, with saints and teachers for 
its pillars, and with worshippers for its pave- 
ment. Wherever there is faith and love, this 
Temple is. J. H. Newman. 

To whatever worlds He carries our souls when 
they shall pass out of these imprisoning bodies, 
in those worlds these souls of ours shall find 
themselves part of the same great Temple; for 
it belongs not to this earth alone. There can 
be no end of the universe where God is, to 
which that growing Temple does not reach,- — 
the Temple of a creation to be wrought at last 
into a perfect utterance of God by a perfect 
obedience to God. Phillips Brooks. 



6 January 6 



In all ages entering into holy souls, she [Wis- 
dom~] maketh them friends of God, and prophets. — 
Wisdom of Solomon vii. 27. 
Meanwhile with every son and saint of Thine 

Along the glorious line, 
Sitting by turns beneath Thy sacred feet 

We '11 hold communion sweet, 
Know them by look and voice, and thank them all 

For helping us in thrall, 
For words of hope, and bright examples given 
To shew through moonless skies that there is light in 
heaven. J- Keble. 

IF we cannot live at once and alone with Him, 
we may at least live with those who have 
lived with Him ; and find, in our admiring 
love for their purity, their truth, their goodness, 
an intercession with His pity on our behalf. 
To study the lives, to meditate the sorrows, to 
commune with the thoughts, of the great and 
holy men and women of this rich world, is a 
sacred discipline, which deserves at least to rank 
as the forecourt of the temple of true worship, 
and may train the tastes, ere we pass the very 
gate, of heaven. We forfeit the chief source of 
dignity and sweetness in life, next to the direct 
communion with God, if we do not seek con- 
verse with the greater minds that have left their 
vestiges on the world. J. Martineau. 

Do not think it wasted time to submit your- 
self to any influence which may bring upon you 
any noble feeling. J. Ruskin. 



January 7 



7 



The exceeding greatness of His power to us- 
ward who believe, according to the working of His 
mighty power, — Eph. i. 19. 

The lives which seem so poor, so low, 

The hearts which are so cramped and dull, 

The baffled hopes, the impulse slow, 
Thou takest, touchest all, and lo ! 

They blossom to the beautiful. 

Susan Coolidge. 

A ROOT set in the finest soil, in the best 
climate, and blessed with all that sun 
and air and rain can do for it, is not in 
so sure a way of its growth to perfection, as 
every man may be, whose spirit aspires after all 
that which God is ready and infinitely desirous 
to give him. For the sun meets not the spring- 
ing bud that stretches towards him with half 
that certainty, as God, the source of all good, 
communicates Himself to the soul that longs to 
partake of Him. 

Wm. Law. 

If we stand in the openings of the present 
moment, with all the length and breadth of our 
faculties unselfishly adjusted to what it reveals, 
we are in the best condition to receive what God 
is always ready to communicate. 

T. C. Upham. 



g January 8 



As we have therefore opportunity ^ let us do good 
unto all men, — Gal. vi. 10. 

Let brotherly love continue. — Heb. xhi. I. 

I ask Thee for a thoughtful love. 
Through constant watching wise, 

To meet the glad with joyful smiles, 
And to wipe the weeping eyes, 

And a heart at leisure from itself, 
To soothe and sympathize. 

A. L. Waring. 

SURELY none are so full of cares, or so 
poor in gifts, that to them also, waiting 
patiently and trustfully on God for His 
daily commands, He will not give direct ministry 
for Him, increasing according to their strength 
and their desire. There is so much to be set 
right in the world, there are so many to be led 
and helped and comforted, that we must con- 
tinually come in contact with such in our daily 
life. Let us only take care, that, by the glance 
being turned inward, or strained onward, or lost 
in vacant reverie, we do not miss our turn of 
service, and pass by those to whom we might 
have been sent on an errand straight from God. 

Elizabeth Charles. 

Look up and not down ; look forward and not 
back ; look out and not in ; and lend a hand. 

Edward E. Hale. 



January 9 9 



And in every work that he began in the service 
of the house of God, and in the law, and in the 
commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all 
his heart, and prospered. — 2 Chron. xxxi. 21. 

What shall we do, that we might work the 
works of God? — John vi. 28. 

Give me within the work which calls to-day, 
To see Thy finger gently beckoning on 5 

So struggle grows to freedom, work to play, 
And toils begun from Thee to Thee are done. 

J. F. Clarke. 



GOD is a kind Father. He sets us all in 
the places where He wishes us to be em- 
ployed ; and that employment is truly 
" our Father's business." He chooses work for 
every creature which will be delightful to them, 
if they do it simply and humbly. He gives us 
always strength enough, and sense enough, for 
what He wants us to do ; if we either tire our- 
selves or puzzle ourselves, it is our own fault. 
And we may always be sure, whatever we are 
doing, that we cannot be pleasing Him, if we 
are not happy ourselves. 

J. Ruskin. 



io January 10 



Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, 
my lips shall praise Thee. — Ps. Ixiii. 3. 

Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose 
it ; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve 
it. — Luke xvii. 33. 

O Lord ! my best desires fulfil, 

And help me to resign 
Life, health, and comfort, to Thy will, 

And make Thy pleasure mine. 

Wm. Cowper. 

WHAT do our heavy hearts prove but 
that other things are sweeter to us 
than His will, that we have not at- 
tained to the full masterv of our true freedom, 
the full perception of its power, that our sonship 
is yet but faintly realized, and its blessedness 
not vet proved and known r Our consent 
would turn all our trials into obedience. By 
consenting we make them our own, and offer 
them with ourselves again to Him. 

H. E. Manning. 

Nothing is intolerable that is necessary. 
Now God hath bound thy trouble upon thee, 
with a design to try thee, and with purposes to 
reward and crown thee. These cords thou 
canst not break; and therefore lie thou down 
gentlv, and suffer the hand of God to do what 
He please. Jeremy Taylor. 



January n 



ii 



/ will be glad, and rejoice in Thy mercy : for 
Thou hast considered my trouble ; Thou hast known 
my soul in adversities, — Ps. xxxi. 7. 

Nay, all by Thee is ordered, chosen, planned 5 
Each drop that fills my daily cup Thy hand 
Prescribes, for ills none else can understand : 

All, all is known to Thee. 

A. L. Newton. 

GOD knows us through and through. Not 
the most secret thought, which we most 
hide from ourselves, is hidden from Him. 
As then we come to know ourselves through 
and through, we come to see ourselves more as 
God sees us, and then we catch some little 
glimpse of His designs with us, how each order- 
ing of His Providence, each check to our desires, 
each failure of our hopes, is just fitted for us, 
and for something in our own spiritual state, 
which others know not of, and which, till then, 
we knew not. Until we come to this knowl- 
edge, we must take all in faith, believing, 
though we know not, the goodness of God 
towards us. As we know ourselves, we, thus 
far, know God. 

E. B. Pusey. 



i2 January 12 



Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation 
of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, 
my strength, and my redeemer. — Ps. xix. 14. 

The thoughts that in our hearts keep place, 
Lord, make a holy, heavenly throng, 

And steep in innocence and grace 
The issue of each guarded tongue. 

T. H. Gill. 

THERE is another kind of silence to be 
cultivated, besides that of the tongue as 
regards others. I mean silence as re- 
gards one's self, — restraining the imagination, 
not permitting it to dwell overmuch on what we 
have heard or said, not indulging in the phantas- 
magoria of picture-thoughts, whether of the past 
or future. Be sure that you have made no 
small progress in the spiritual life, when you can 
control your imagination, so as to fix it on the 
duty and occupation actually existing, to the ex- 
clusion of the crowd of thoughts which are per- 
petually sweeping across the mind. No doubt, 
you cannot prevent those thoughts from arising, 
but you can prevent yourself from dwelling on 
them ; you can put them aside, you can check 
the self-complacency, or irritation, or earthly 
longings which feed them, and by the practice 
of such control of your thoughts you will attain 
that spirit of inward silence which draws the 
soul into a close intercourse with God. 

Jean N. Grou, 



January 13 



13 



Speak not evil one of another, brethren. — James 
iv. 11. 

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and 
clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, 
with all malice. — Eph. iv, 31. 

If aught good thou canst not say 

Of thy brother, foe, or friend, 
Take thou, then, the silent way, 

Lest in word thou shouldst offend. 

Anon. 

IF there is any person to whom you feel dis- 
like, that is the person of whom you ought 
never to speak. 

R. Cecil. 

To recognize with delight all high and gener- 
ous and beautiful actions ; to find a joy even in 
seeing the good qualities of your bitterest oppo- 
nents, and to admire those qualities even in 
those with whom you have least sympathy, this 
is the only spirit which can heal the love of 
slander and of calumny. 

F. W. Robertson. 



14 January 14 



Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord 
the king shall appoint, — 2 Sam. xv. 15. 

I love to think that God appoints 

My portion day by day 5 
Events of life are in His hand, 

And I would only say, 
Appoint them in Thine own good time, 

And in Thine own best way. 

A. L. Waring. 

IF we are really, and always, and equally ready 
to do whatsoever the King appoints, all the 
trials and vexations arising from any change 
in His appointments, great or small, simply do 
not exist. If He appoints me to work there, 
shall I lament that I am not to work here ? If 
He appoints me to wait in-doors to-day, am I to 
be annoyed because I am not to work out-of- 
doors ? If I meant to write His messages this 
morning, shall I grumble because He sends in- 
terrupting visitors, rich or poor, to whom I am 
to speak them, or " show kindness " for His 
sake, or at least obey His command, " Be cour- 
teous ? " If all my members are really at His 
disposal, why should I be put out if to-day's ap- 
pointment is some simple work for my hands or 
errands for my feet, instead of some seemingly 
more important doing of head or tongue ? 

F. R. Havergal. 



January 15 15 



For this is the will of God, even your sancti- 
fication. — I Thess. iv. 3. 

Between us and Thyself remove 

Whatever hindrances may be, 
That so our inmost heart may prove 

A holy temple, meet for Thee. 

Latin Mss. of 15TH Century. 

BEAR, in the presence of God, to know 
thyself. Then seek to know for what 
God sent thee into the world ; how thou 
hast fulfilled it ; art thou yet what God willed 
thee to be ; what yet lacketh unto thee ; what 
is God's will for thee now ; what thing thou 
mayest now do, by His grace, to obtain His 
favor, and approve thyself unto Him. Say to 
Him, " Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art 
my God," and He will say unto thy soul, " Fear 
not; I am thy salvation." He will speak peace 
unto thy soul ; He will set thee in the way; He 
will bear thee above things of sense, and praise 
of man, and things which perish in thy grasp, 
and give thee, if but afar off, some glimpse of 
His own, unfading, unsetting, unperishing bright- 
ness and bliss and love. 

E. B. Pusey. 



1 6 January 16 



Now our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, and God, 
even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath 
given us everlasting consolation and good hope 
through grace, comfort sour hearts, and stabhsh 
you in every good word and work, — 2 Thess. 
ii. 16, 17. 

When sorrow all our heart would ask, 
We need not shun our daily task, 

And hide ourselves for calm \ 
The herbs we seek to heal our woe 
Familiar by our pathway grow, 

Our common air is balm. 

J. Keble. 

OH, when we turn away from some duty 
or some fellow-creature, saying that our 
hearts are too sick and sore with some 
great yearning of our own, we may often sever 
the line on which a divine message was coming 
to us. We shut out the man, and we shut out 
the angel who had sent him on to open the door. 
There is a plan working in our lives; and it 
we keep our hearts quiet and our eyes open, 
it all works together ; and, if we don't, it all 
rights together, and goes on righting till it comes 
right, somehow, somewhere. 

Annie Keary. 



January 17 



17 



Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery 
trial which is to try you, as though some strange 
thing happened unto you : but rejoice, inasmuch 
as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, — 
1 Peter iv. 12, 13. 

We take with solemn thankfulness 
Our burden up, nor ask it less, 
And count it joy that even we 
May suffer, serve, or wait for Thee, 
Whose will be done ! 

J. G. Whittier. 

RECEIVE every inward and outward 
trouble, every disappointment, pain, un- 
easiness, temptation, darkness, and desola- 
tion, with both thy hands, as a true opportunity 
and blessed occasion of dying to self, and enter- 
ing into a fuller fellowship with thy self-denying, 
suffering Saviour. Look at no inward or out- 
ward trouble in any other view ; reject every 
other thought about it ; and then every kind of 
trial and distress will become the blessed day of 
thy prosperity. That state is best, which exer- 
ciseth the highest faith in, and fullest resignation 
to God. 

Wm. Law. 



2 



1 8 January 18 



Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the 
Lord thy God hath given unto thee. — Deut.xxvL II. 

Rejoice evermore. In everything give thanks. — 
i Thess. v. 16, 18. 

Grave on thy heart each past " red-letter day " ! 
Forget not all the sunshine of the way 
By which the Lord hath led thee ; answered prayers, 
And joys unasked, strange blessings, lifted cares, 
Grand promise-echoes ! Thus thy life shall be 
One record of His love and faithfulness to thee. 

F. R. Havergal. 

GRATITUDE consists in a watchful, 
minute attention to the particulars of 
our state, and to the multitude of God's 
gifts, taken one by one. It fills us with a con- 
sciousness that God loves and cares for us, even 
to the least event and smallest need of life. It 
is a blessed thought, that from our childhood 
God has been laying His fatherly hands upon 
us, and always^ in benediction; that even the 
strokes of His "hands are blessings, and among 
the chiefest we have ever received. When this 
feeling is awakened, the heart beats with a pulse 
of thankfulness. Every gift has its return of 
praise. It awakens an unceasing daily converse 
with our Father, — He speaking to us by the 
descent of blessings, we to Him by the ascent 
of thanksgiving. And all our whole life is 
thereby drawn under the light of His counte- 
nance,' and is filled with a gladness, serenity, and 
peace which only thankful hearts can know. 

H. E. Manning. 



January 19 19 



Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord, 
— Ps. cv. 3. 

The joy of the Lord is your strength. — Neh. 
viii. 10. 

Be Thou my Sun, my selfishness destroy, 

Thy atmosphere of Love be all my joy ; 

Thy Presence be my sunshine ever bright, 

My soul the little mote that lives but in Thy light. 

Gerhard Tersteegen. 

I DO not know when I have had happier 
times in my soul, than when I have been 
sitting at work, with nothing before me but 
a candle and a white cloth, and hearing no sound 
but that of my own breath, with God in my soul 
and heaven in my eye. ... I rejoice in being 
exactly what I am, — a creature capable of lov- 
ing God, and who, as long as God lives, must 
be happy. I get up and look for a while out of 
the window, and gaze at the moon and stars, 
the work of an Almighty hand. I think of the 
grandeur of the universe, and then sit down, 
and think myself one of the happiest beings in 
it. 

A Poor Methodist Woman, i8th Century. 



2o January 20 



The Lord taketh pleasure in His people : He will 
beautify the meek with salvation, — Ps. cxlix. 4. 

Long listening to Thy words, 

My voice shall catch Thy tone, 
And, locked in Thine, my hand shall grow 

All loving like Thy own. 

B. T. 

IT is not in words explicable, with what di- 
vine lines and lights the exercise of godliness 
and charitv will mould and gild the hardest 
and coldest countenance, neither to what dark- 
ness their departure will consign the loveliest. 
For there is not any virtue the exercise of which, 
even momentarilv, will not impress a new fair- 
ness upon the features \ neither on them only, 
but on the whole body the moral and intellect- 
ual faculties have operation, for all the move- 
ments and gestures, however slight, are different 
in their modes according to the mind that gov- 
erns them — and on the gentleness and decision 
of right feeling follows grace of actions, and, 
through continuance of this, grace of form. 

J. Ruskin. 

There is no beautifier of complexion, or 
form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy 
and not pain around us. 

R. W. Emerson. 



January 21 21 



Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and 
the young men shall utterly fall : but they that wait 
upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall 
mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run, 
and not be weary ; and they shall walk and not 
faint. — Isa. xl. 30, 31. 

Lord, with what courage and delight 

I do each thing, 
When Thy least breath sustains my wing ! 

I shine and move 

Like those above, 

And, with much gladness 

Quitting sadness, 
Make me fair days of every night. 

H. Vaughan. 

MAN, by living wholly in submission to 
the Divine Influence, becomes sur- 
rounded with, and creates for himself, 
internal pleasures infinitely greater than any he 
can otherwise attain to — a state of heavenly 
Beatitude. J. P. Greaves. 

By persisting in a habit of self-denial, we 
shall, beyond what I can express, increase the 
inward powers of the mind, and shall produce 
that cheerfulness and greatness of spirit as will 
fit us for all good purposes ; and shall not have 
lost pleasure, but changed it; the soul being then 
filled with its own intrinsic pleasures. 

Henry More. 



22 



January 22 



Then shall we know, if we follow on to know 
the Lord. - — Hose a vi. 3. 

And, as the path of duty is made plain, 
May grace be given, that I may walk therein, 

Not like the hireling, for his selfish gain, 
With backward glances and reluctant tread, 
Making a merit of his coward dread, — 

But, cheerful, in the light around me thrown, 

Walking as one to pleasant service led ; 

Doing God's will as if it were my own, 
Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone ! 

J. G. Whittier. 

IT is by doing our duty that we learn to do it. 
So long as men dispute whether or no a 
thing is their duty, they get never the 
nearer. Let them set ever so weakly about 
doing it, and the face of things alters. They 
find in themselves strength which they knew 
not of. Difficulties which it seemed to them 
they could not get over, disappear. For He 
accompanies it with the influences of His blessed 
Spirit, and each performance opens our minds 
for larger influxes of His grace, and places them 
in communion with Him. 

E. B. Pusey. 

That which is called considering what is 
our duty in a particular case, is very often 
nothing but endeavoring to explain it away. 

Joseph Butler. 



January 23 23 



If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and 
satisfy the afflicted soul ; then shall thy light rise in 
obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday ; and 
the Lord shall guide thee continually. — • Isa. lviii. 
10, II. 

If thou hast Yesterday thy duty done, 

And thereby cleared firm footing for To-day, 

Whatever clouds make dark To-morrow's sun, 
Thou shalt not miss thy solitary way. 

J. W. von Goethe. 

OLORD, who art our Guide even unto 
death, grant us, I pray Thee, grace to 
follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. 
In little daily duties to which Thou callest us, 
bow down our wills to simple obedience, patience 
under pain or provocation, strict truthfulness of 
word and manner, humility, kindness ; in great 
acts of duty or perfection, if Thou shouldest 
call us to them, uplift us to self-sacrifice, heroic 
courage, laying down of life for Thy truth's 
sake, or for a brother. Amen. 

C. G. Rossetti. 



24 January 24 



/ will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel, 
— Ps. xvi. 7. 

Not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit ; serv- 
ing the Lord. — Rom. xii. 1 1. 

Mine be the reverent, listening love 

That waits all day on Thee, 
With the service of a watchful heart 

Which no one else can see. 

A. L. Waring. 

NOTHING is small or great in God's 
sight ; whatever He wills becomes great 
to us, however seemingly trifling, and if 
once the voice of conscience tells us that He 
requires anything of us, we have no right to 
measure its importance. On the other hand, 
whatever He would not have us do, however 
important we may think it, is as nought to us. 
How do you know what you may lose by 
neglecting this duty, which you think so trifling, 
or the blessing which its faithful performance 
may bring ? Be sure that if you do your very 
best in that which is laid upon you daily, you 
will not be left without sufficient help when 
some weightier occasion arises. Give yourself 
to Him, trust Him, fix your eye upon Him, 
listen to His voice, and then go on bravely and 
cheerfully. 

✓ Jean Nicolas Grou. 



January 25 



2 5 



If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do 
them. — John xiii. 17. 

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and 
doeth it not, to him it is sin. ■ — James iv. 17. 

We cannot kindle when we will 

The fire that in the heart resides, 
The spirit bloweth and is still, 

In mystery our soul abides : 
But tasks in hours of insight willed 
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled. 

Matthew Arnold. 

HURT not your conscience with any 
known sin. 

S. Rutherford. 

Deep-rooted customs, though wrong, are 
not easily altered ; but it is the duty of all to be 
firm in that which they certainly know is right 
for them. 

John Woolman„ 

He often acts unjustly who does not do a 
certain thing; not only he who does a certain 
thing. 

Marcus Antoninus. 

Every duty we omit obscures some truth we 
should have known. 

John Ruskin. 



26 January 26 



O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His 
judgments, and His ways past finding out ! — 
Rom. xi. 33. 

It doth not yet appear what we shall be. — I 

John iii. 2. 

No star is ever lost we once have seen, 
We always may be what we might have been. 
Since Good, though only thought, has life and breath, 
God's life — can always be redeemed from death 5 
. And evil, in its nature, is decay, 
And any hour can blot it all away ; 
The hopes that lost in some far distance seem, 
May be the truer life, and this the dream. 

A. A. Procter. 

ST. BERNARD has said: "Man, if thou 
desirest a noble and holy life, and unceas- 
ingly prayest to God for it, if thou con- 
tinue constant in this thy desire, it will be 
granted unto thee without fail, even if only in 
the day or hour of thy death ; and if God should 
not give it to thee then, thou shalt find it in 
Him in eternity : of this be assured." There- 
fore do not relinquish your desire, though it be 
not fulfilled immediately, or though ye may 
swerve from your aspirations, or even forget 
them for a time. . . . The love and aspiration 
which once really existed live forever before 
God, and in Him ye shall find the fruit thereof; 
that is, to all eternity it shall be better for you 
than if you had never felt them. J. Tauler. 



January 27 



27 



For thus sa'ith the high and lofty One that inhab- 
ited eternity, whose name is Holy ; I dwell in the 
high and holy place, with him also that is of a con- 
trite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the 
humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 
— Isa. lvii. 15. 

Without an end or bound 
Thy life lies all outspread in light ; 

Our lives feel Thy life all around, 
Making our weakness strong) our darkness bright 5 
Yet is it neither wilderness nor sea, 
But the calm gladness of a full eternity. 

F. W. Faber, 

O TRUTH who art Eternity ! And 
Love who art Truth ! And Eternity 
who art Love ! Thou art my God, to 
Thee do I sigh night and day. When I first 
knew Thee, Thou liftedst me up, that I might 
see there was somewhat for me to see, and that 
I was not yet such as to see. And Thou 
streaming forth Thy beams of light upon me 
most strongly, didst beat back the weakness of 
my sight, and I trembled with love and awe : 
and I perceived myself to be far off from Thee 
in the region of unlikeness. 

St. Augustine. 



28 January 28 



O fear the Lord, ye His saints : for there is no 
want to them that fear Him. — Ps. xxxiv. 9. 

Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire 
of every living thing. — Ps. cxlv. 16. 

What Thou shalt to-day provide, 

Let me as a child receive ; 
What to-morrow may betide, 

Calmly to Thy wisdom leave. 
'T is enough that Thou wilt care 5 
Why should I the burden bear ? 

J. Newton. 



HAVE we found that anxiety about possible 
consequences increased the clearness of 
our judgment, made us wiser and braver 
in meeting the present, and arming ourselves for 
the future ? If we had prayed for this day's 
bread, and left the next to itself, if we had not 
huddled our days together, not allotting to each 
its appointed task, but ever deferring that to the 
future, and drawing upon the future for its own 
troubles, which must be met when they come 
whether we have anticipated them or not, we 
should have found a simplicity and honesty in 
our lives, a capacity for work, an enjoyment in 
it, to which we are now, for the most part, 
strangers. 

F. D. Maurice. 



January 29 



29 



/ the Lord will hold thy right hand, saying unto 
thee, Fear not ; I will help thee. — Isa. xli. 13. 

Show Thy marvellous loving-kindness, O Thou 
that savest by Thy right hand them which put their 
trust in Thee. — Ps. xvii. 7. 

I take Thy hand, and fears grow still ; 

Behold Thy face, and doubts remove 5 
Who would not yield his wavering will 

To perfect Truth and boundless Love ? 

S. Johnson. 

DO not look forward to the changes and 
chances of this life in fear; rather look 
to them with full hope that, as they arise, 
God, whose you are, will deliver you out of 
them. He has kept you hitherto, — do you 
but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead 
you safely through all things; and, when you 
cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. 
Do not look forward to what may happen to- 
morrow ; the same everlasting Father who cares 
for you to-day, will take care of you to-morrow, 
and every day. Either He will shield you from 
suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength 
to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all 
anxious thoughts and imaginations. 

St. Francis de Sales. 



30 January 30 



If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell 
in the uttermost parts of the sea : even there shall 
Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold 
me, — Ps. cxxxix. 9, 10. 

I cannot lose Thee ! Still in Thee abiding, 
The end is clear, how wide soe'er I roam ; 

The Hand that holds the worlds my steps is guiding, 
And I must rest at last in Thee, my home. 

E. SCUDDER. 

HOW can we come to perceive this direct 
leading of God ? By a careful looking 
at home, and abiding within the gates of 
thy own soul. Therefore, let a man be at home 
in his own heart, and cease from his restless 
chase of and search after outward things. Tf 
he is thus at home while on earth, he will surely 
come to see what there is to do at home, — 
what God commands him inwardly without 
means, and also outwardly by the help of means ; 
and then let him surrender himself, and follow 
God along whatever path his loving Lord thinks 
fit to lead him : whether it be to contemplation 
or action, to usefulness or enjoyment; whether 
in sorrow or in joy, let him follow on. And if 
God do not give him thus to feel His hand in 
all things, let him still simply yield himself up, 
and go without, for God's sake, out of love, and 
still press forward. 

J. Tauler. 



January 31 3 1 



In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall 
direct thy paths, — Prov. iii. 6. 

He leadeth me. — Ps. xxiii. 2. 



In "pastures green'' ? Not always ; sometimes He 
Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me 
In weary ways, where heavy shadows be. 

So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair 
I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, where 
The shadows lie, what matter ? He is there. 

Henry H. Barry. 



THE Shepherd knows what pastures are 
best for his sheep, and they must not 
question nor doubt, but trustingly follow 
Him. Perhaps He sees that the best pastures 
for some of us are to be found in the midst of 
opposition or of earthly trials. If He leads you 
there, you may be sure they are green for you, 
and you will grow and be made strong by feed- 
ing there. Perhaps He sees that the best waters 
for you to walk beside will be raging waves of 
trouble and sorrow. If this should be the case, 
He will make them still waters for you, and you 
must go and lie down beside them, and let them 
have all their blessed influences upon you. 

H. W. Smith. 



32 February i 



Now the God of patience and consolation grant 
you to be like-minded one toward another, according 
to Christ Jesus. — Rom. xv. 5. 

Let patience have her perfect work. — James 
i. 4. 

Make me patient, kind, and gentle, 

Day by day ; 
Teach me how to live more nearly 

As I pray. 

Sharpe's Magazine. 

THE exercise of patience involves a con- 
tinual practice of the presence of God; 
for we mav be come upon at any moment 
for an almost heroic display of good temper, and 
it is a short road to unselfishness, for nothing is 
left to self; all that seems to belong most inti- 
mately to self, to be self's private property, such 
as time, home, and rest, are invaded by these 
continual trials of patience. The family is full 
of such opportunities. F. W. Faber. 

Only as we know what it is to cherish love 
when sore at some unkindness, to overmaster 
ourselves when under provocation, to preserve 
gentleness during trial and unmerited wrong, — 
only then can we know in any degree the 
U manner of spirit " that was in Christ. 

T. T. Carter. 



February 2 33 



Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that 
are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the 
weak, be patient toward all men. — I Thess. v. 14. 

The little worries which we meet each day 
May lie as stumbling-blocks across our way, 
Or we may make them stepping-stones to be 
Of grace, O Lord, to Thee. 

A. E. Hamiliton. 

WE must be continually sacrificing our 
own wills, as opportunity serves, to the 
will of others; bearing, without notice, 
sights and sounds that annoy us ; setting about 
this or that task, when we had far rather be 
doing something very different ; persevering in 
it, often, when we are thoroughly tired of it; 
keeping company for duty's sake, when it 
would be a great joy to us to be by ourselves ; 
besides all the trifling untoward accidents of 
life ; bodily pain and weakness long continued, 
and perplexing us often when it does not amount 
to illness ; losing what we value, missing what 
we desire ; disappointment in other persons, 
wilfulness, unkindness, ingratitude, folly, in 
cases where we least expect it. 

J. Keble. 



34 February 3 



Search me, 0 God, and know my heart : try me, 
and know my thoughts: and see if there be any 
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way ever- 
lasting, — Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24. 

Save us from the evil tongue. 
From the heart that thinketh wrong, 
From the sins, whate'er they be, 
That divide the soul from Thee. 

Anon. 

SUCH as are thy habitual thoughts, such 
also will be the character of thy mind ; 
for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. Dye 
it then with a continuous series of such thoughts 
as these : for instance, that where a man can 
live, there he can also live well. But he must 
live in a palace : well, then, he can also live 
well in a palace. 

Marcus Antoninus. 

Who is there that sets himself to the task of 
steadily watching his thoughts for the space of 
one hour, with the view of preserving his mind 
in a simple, humble, healthful condition, but 
will speedily discern in the multiform, self- 
reflecting, self-admiring emotions, which, like 
locusts, are ready to " eat up every green thing 
in his land," a state as much opposed to sim- 
plicity and humility as night is to day ? 

M. A. Kelty. 



February 4 35 



If any man offend not in word, the same is a 
perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole 
body. — James iii. 2 

Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth ; keep the 
door of my lips. — Ps. cxli. 3. 

What ! never speak one evil word, 

Or rash, or idle, or unkind ! 
Oh, how shall I, most gracious Lord, 

This mark of true perfection find ? 

C. Wesley. 

WHEN we remember our temptations to 
give quick indulgence to disappoint- 
ment or irritation or unsympathizing 
weariness, and how hard a thing it is from day 
to day to meet our fellow-men, our neighbors, 
or even our own households, in all moods, in all 
discordances between the world without us and 
the frames within, in all states of health, of soli- 
citude, of preoccupation, and show no signs of 
impatience, ungentleness, or unobservant self-ab- 
sorption, — with only kindly feeling finding ex- 
pression, and ungenial feeling at least inwardly 
imprisoned; — we shall be ready to acknowledge 
that the man who has thus attained is master of 
himself, and in the graciousness of his power is 
fashioned upon the style of a Perfect Man. 

J. H. Thom. 



36 February 5 



Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that 
doeth righteousness at all thnes. — Ps. cvi. 3. 

Thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear : be- 
cause thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember 
it as waters that pass away. — Job xi. 15, 16. 

In the bitter waves of woe, 

Beaten and tossed about 
By the sullen winds that blow 

From the desolate shores of doubt, 
Where the anchors that faith has cast 

Are dragging in the gale, 
I am quietly holding fast 

To the things that cannot fail. 

Washington Gladden. 

IN the darkest hour through which a human 
soul can pass, whatever else is doubtful, this 
at least is certain. If there be no God and 
no future state, yet even then, it is better to be 
generous than selfish, better to be chaste than 
licentious, better to be true than false, better to 
be brave than to be a coward. Blessed be- 
yond all earthly blessedness is the man who, in 
the tempestuous darkness of the soul, has dared 
to hold fast to these venerable landmarks. Thrice 
blessed is he, who, when all is drear and cheerless 
within and without, when his teachers terrify 
him, and his friends shrink from him, has obsti- 
nately clung to moral good. Thrice blessed, 
because his night shall pass into clear, bright day. 

F. W. Robertson. 



February 6 37 



Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be 
safe. — Prov. xxix. 25. 

/ will cry unto God most high ; unto God, that 
performeth all things for me. — Ps. lvii. 2. 

Only thy restless heart keep still, 
And wait in cheerful hope ; content 

To take whate'er His gracious will, 
His all-discerning love hath sent 5 

Nor doubt our inmost wants are known 
To Him who chose us for His own. 

G. Neumark. 

GOD has brought us into this time ; He, 
and not ourselves or some dark demon. 
If we are not fit to cope with that which 
He has prepared for us, we should have been 
utterly unfit for any condition that we imagine 
for ourselves. In this time we are to live and 
* wrestle, and in no other. Let us humbly, 
tremblingly, manfully look at it, and we shall 
not wish that the sun could go back its ten 
degrees, or that we could go back with it. If 
easy times are departed, it is that the difficult 
times may make us more in earnest; that they 
may teach us not to depend upon ourselves. If 
easy belief is impossible, it is that we may learn 
what belief is, and in whom it is to be placed. 

F. D. Maurice. 



3 8 February 7 



Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye 
shall be my people : and walk ye in all the ways 
that I have commanded you, that it may be well 
unto you, — Jer. vii, 23. 

And oft, when in my heart was heard 

Thy timely mandate, I deferred 

The task, in smoother walks to stray ; 

But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I may. 

W. Wordsworth. 

PRAY Him to give you what Scripture calls 
« an honest and good heart," or " a per- 
fect heart;" and, without waiting, begin 
at once to obey Him with the best heart you 
have. Any obedience is better than none. You 
have to seek His face; obedience is the only 
way of seeing Him. All your duties are obedi- 
ences. To ^do what He bids is to obey Him, 
and to obey Him is to approach Him. Every 
act of obedience is an approach — an approach 
to Him who is not far off, though He seems so, 
but close behind this visible screen of things 
which hides Him from us. J. H. Newman. 

As soon as we lav ourselves entirely at His 
feet, we have enough light given us to guide 
our'own steps; as the foot-soldier, who hears 
nothing; of the councils that determine the course 
of the great battle he is m, hears plainly enough 
the word of command which he must himselr 
obey. George Eliot. 



February 8 39 



\e re- 



He leadeth me beside the still waters. Ht 
storeth my soul : He leadeth me in the paths of 
righteousness for His names sake, — Ps. xxm. 2, 3. 

He leads me where the waters glide, 

The waters soft and still, 
And homewafd He will gently guide 

My wandering heart and will. 

J. Keble. 

OUT of obedience and devotion arises an 
habitual faith, which makes Him, though 
unseen, a part of all our life. He will 
guide us in a sure path, though it be a rough 
one • though shadows hang upon it, yet He will 
be with us. He will bring us home at last. 
Through much trial it may be, and weariness, 
in much fear and fainting of heart, in much sad- 
ness and loneliness, in griefs that the world 
never knows, and under burdens that the near- 
est never suspect. Yet He will suffice for all. 
By His eye or by His voice He will guide us, if 
we be docile and gentle ; by His staff and by 
His rod, if we wander or are wilful : any how, 
and by all means, He will bring us to His rest. 

H. E. Manning. 



40 February g 



/ was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the 
earth : lo, there thou hast that is thine. — Matt. 
xxv. 25. 

Time was, I shrank from what was right, 

From fear of what was wrong ; 
I would not brave the sacred fight, 

Because the foe was strong. 

But now I cast that finer sense 

And sorer shame aside 5 
Such dread of sin was indolence, 

Such aim at heaven was pride. 

J. H. Newman. 

IF he falls into some error, he does not fret 
over it, but rising up with a humble spirit, 
he goes on his way anew rejoicing. Were 
he to fall a hundred times in the day, he would 
not despair, — he would rather cry out lovingly 
to God, appealing to His tender pity. The 
really devout man has a horror of evil, but he 
has a still greater love of that which is good ; 
he is more set on doing what is right, than 
avoiding what is wrong. Generous, large- 
hearted, he is not afraid of danger in serving 
God, and would rather run the risk of doing 
His will imperfectly than not strive to serve 
Him lest he fail in the attempt. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 



February 10 4 1 



We have waited for Him, and He will save us : 
this is the Lord', we have waited for Him, we will 
be glad and rejoice in His salvation. — Isa. xxv. 9. 

Blest are the humble souls that wait 
With sweet submission to His will \ 

Harmonious all their passions move,^ 
And in the midst of storms are still. 

P. Doddridge. 



DO not be discouraged at your faults ; bear 
with yourself in correcting them, as you 
would with your neighbor. Lay aside 
this ardor of mind, which exhausts your body, 
and leads you to commit errors. Accustom 
yourself gradually to carry prayer into all your 
daily occupations. Speak, move, work, in peace, 
as if you were in prayer, as indeed you ought to 
be. Do everything without excitement, by the 
spirit of grace. As soon as you perceive your 
natural impetuosity gliding in, retire quietly 
within, where is the kingdom of God. Listen 
to the leadings of grace, then say and do noth- 
ing but what the Holy Spirit shall put in your 
heart. You will find that you will become more 
tranquil, that your words will be fewer and 
more effectual, and that, with less effort, you 
will accomplish more good. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 



February n 



/ have finished the work which Thou gavest me 
to do. — John xvii. 4. 

She hath done what she could. — Mark xiv, 8. 

He who God's will has borne and done, 
And his own restless longings stilled, 

What else he does, or has foregone, 
His mission he has well fulfilled. 

From the German. 

CHEERED by the presence of God, I will 
do at each moment, without anxiety, 
according to the strength which He shall 
give me, the work that His Providence assigns 
me. I will leave the rest without concern ; 
it is not my affair. I ought to consider the 
duty to which I am called each day, as the 
work that God has given me to do, and to 
apply myself to it in a manner worthy of His 
glory, that is to say, with exactness and in 
peace. I must neglect nothing; I must be 
violent about nothing. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

It is thy duty oftentimes to do what- thou 
wouldst not ; thy duty, too, to leave undone 
what thou wouldst do. 

Thomas a Kempis. 



February 12 43 



Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with 
benefits.- — Ps. Ixviii. 19. 

Nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living 
God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. — 
1 Tim. vi. 17. 

Source of my life's refreshing springs, 
Whose presence in my heart sustains me. 

Thy love ordains me pleasant things, 
Thy mercy orders all that pains me. 

A. L. Waring. 

AND to be true, and speak my soul, when 
I survey the occurrences of my life, and 
call into account the finger of God, I can 
perceive nothing but an abyss and mass of 
mercies, either in general to mankind, or in 
particular to myself ; and whether out of the 
prejudice of my affection, or an inverting and- 
partial conceit of His mercies, I know not ; 
but those which others term crosses, afflictions, 
judgments, misfortunes, to me who inquire 
farther into them than their visible effects, they 
both appear, and in event have ever proved, the 
secret and dissembled favors of His affection. 

Sir T, Browne. 



February 13 



Let Him do to me as seemetb good unto Him. — 
2 Sam. xv. 26. 

To have, each day, the thing I wish, 

Lord, that seems best to me ; 
But not to have the thing I wish, 

Lord, that seems best to Thee. 
Most truly, then, Thy will is done, 

When mine, O Lord, is crossed ; 
'T is good to see my plans o'erthrowm, 

My ways in Thine all lost. H. Bonar. 

OLORD, Thou knowest what is best for 
us ; let this or that be done, as Thou 
shalt please. Give what Thou wilt, and 
how much Thou wilt, and when Thou wilt. 
Deal with me as Thou thinkest good. Set me 
where Thou wilt, and deal with me in all things 
just as Thou wilt. Behold, I am Thy servant, 
prepared for all things : for I desire not to live 
unto myself, but unto Thee; and oh, that I 
could do it worthily and perfectly ! 

Thomas a Kempis. 

. Dare to look up to God, and say, " Make 
use of me for the future as Thou wilt. I am 
of the same mind ; I am one with Thee. I 
refuse nothing which seems good to Thee. 
Lead me whither Thou wilt, clothe me in 
whatever dress Thou wilt. Is it Thy will that 
I should be in a public or a private condition, 
dwell here, or be banished, be poor or rich ? 
Under all these circumstances, I will testify 
unto Thee before men." Epictetus. 



February 14 45 



1 ivould have you without carefulness, — I Cor. 
vii. 32. 

O Lord, how happy should we be 
If we could cast our care on Thee, 

If we from self could rest ; 
And feel at heart that One above, 
In perfect wisdom, perfect love, 

Is working for the best. 

J. Anstice. 

CAST all thy care on God. See that all 
thy cares be such as thou canst cast on 
God, and then hold none back. Never 
brood over thyself,- never stop short in thyself; 
but cast thy whole self, even this very care which 
distresseth thee, upon God. Be not anxious 
about little things, if thou wouldst learn to trust 
God with thine all. Act upon faith in little 
things ; commit thy daily cares and anxieties to 
Him ; and He will strengthen thy faith for any 
greater trials. Rather, give thy whole self into 
God's hands, and so trust Him to take care of 
thee in all lesser things, as being His, for His 
own sake, whose thou art. 

E. B. Pusey. 



46 February 15 



If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scrip- 
ture, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself ye do 
well. — James ii. 8. 

Come, children, let us go ! 

We travel hand in hand ; 
Each in his brother finds his joy 

In this wild stranger land. 
The strong be quick to raise 

The weaker when they fall $ 
Let love and peace and patience bloom 

In ready help for all. 

G. Tersteegen. 

IT is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the 
thought of a man's death hallows him anew 
to us ; as if life were not sacred too, — as 
if it were comparatively a light thing to fail in 
love and reverence to the brother who has to 
climb the whole toilsome steep with us, and all 
our tears and tenderness were due to the one 
who is spared that hard journey. 

George Eliot. 

Would we codify the laws that should reign 
in households, and' whose daily transgression 
annovs and mortifies us, and degrades our house- 
hold life, — we must learn to adorn every dav 
with sacrifices. Good manners are made up of 
petty sacrifices. Temperance, courage, love, 
are made up of the same jewels. Listen to 
every prompting of honor. R. W. Emerson. 



February 16 47 



Serve Him with a perfect heart, and with a 
willing mind. — I Chron. xxviii. 9. 

And if some things I do not ask, 

In my cup of blessing be, 
I would have my spirit filled the more 

With grateful love to Thee, — 
More careful, — not to serve Thee much, 
But to please Thee perfectly. 

A. L. Waring. 

LITTLE things come daily, hourly, within 
our reach, and they are not less calculated 
to set forward our growth in holiness, than 
are the greater occasions which occur but rarely. 
Moreover, fidelity in trifles, and an earnest seek- 
ing to please God in little matters, is a test of 
real devotion and love. Let your aim be to 
please our dear Lord perfectly in little things, 
and to attain a spirit of childlike simplicity and 
dependence. In proportion as self-love and self- 
confidence are weakened, and our will bowed to 
that of God, so will hindrances disappear, the 
internal troubles and contests which harassed the 
soul vanish, and it will be filled with peace and 
tranquillity. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 



48 February 17 



My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into 
divers temptations [or " trials "] , blowing this, that 
the trying of your faith worketh patience. — James 
i- 2, 3. 

For patience, when the rough winds blow ! 

For patience, when our hopes are fading, — 
When visible things all backward go, 

And nowhere seems the power of aiding ! 
God still enfolds thee with His viewless hand, 
And leads thee surely to the Fatherland. 

N. L. Frothingham, from the German. 

WE have need of patience with ourselves 
and with others; with those below, and 
those above us, and with our own 
equals; with those who love us and those who 
love us not; for the greatest things and for the 
least; against sudden inroads of trouble, and 
under our daily burdens; disappointments as to 
the weather, or the breaking of the heart ; in the 
weariness of the body, or the wearing of the soul ; 
in our own failure 'of duty, or others' failure 
toward us; in every-day wants, or in the aching 
of sickness or the decay of age; in disappoint- 
ment, bereavement, losses, injuries, reproaches ; 
in heaviness of the heart; or its sickness amid 
delayed hopes. In all these things, from child- 
hood's little troubles to the martyr's sufferings, 
patience is the grace of God, whereby we endure 
evil for the love of God. 

E. B. Pusey. 



February 18 49 



It is good for me that I have been afflicted ; that 
I might learn Thy statutes. — Ps. cxix. 71. 

But though He cause grief, yet will He have 
compassion, according to the multitude of His mercies. 
— Lam. iii. 32. 

And yet these days of dreariness are sent us from above ; 
They do not come in anger, but in faithfulness and love 5 
They come to teach us lessons which bright ones could 
not yield, 

And to leave us blest and thankful when their purpose 
is fulfilled. 

Anon. 

HEED not distressing thoughts when they 
rise ever so strongly in thee ; nay, though 
they have entered thee, fear them not, 
but be still awhile, not believing in the power 
which thou feelest they have over thee, and it 
will fall on a sudden. It is good for thy spirit, 
and greatly to thy advantage, to be much and 
variously exercised by the Lord. Thou dost 
not know what the Lord hath already done, 
and what He is yet doing for thee therein. 

I. Penington. 

Why should I start at the plough of my 
Lord, that maketh deep furrows on my soul ? 
I know He is no idle husbandman, He purposeth 
a crop. 

S. Rutherford. 

4 



5o February ig 



My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me 
and to finish His work. — John iv. 34. 

I am glad to think 
I am not bound to make the world go right ; 
But only to discover and to do, 
With cheerful heart, the work that God appoints. 

I will trust in Him, 
That He can hold His own ; and I will take 
His will, above the work He sendeth me, 
To be my chiefest good. 

J. Ingelow. 

DON'T object that your duties are so insig- 
nificant ; they are to be reckoned of 
infinite significance, and alone important 
to you. Were it but the more perfect regula- 
tion of your apartments, the sorting-away of 
your clothes and trinkets, the arranging of your 

papers, " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, 

do it with all thy might," and all thy worth 
and constancy. Much more, if your duties are 
of evidently higher, wider scope ; if you have 
brothers, sisters, a father, a mother, weigh 
earnestly what claim does lie upon you, on be- 
half of each, and consider it as the one thing 
needful, to pay them more and more honestly 
and nobly what you owe. What matter how 
miserable one is, if one can do that ? That is 
the sure and steady disconnection and extinction 
of whatsoever miseries one has in this world. 

T. Carlyle. 



February 20 51 



Let us not therefore judge one another any more : 
but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling- 
block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way. — 
Rom. xiv. 13. 

Them that were entering in, ye hindered. — 
Luke xi. 52. 

My mind was ruffled with small cares to-day, 
And I said pettish words, and did not keep 
Long-suffering patience well, and now how deep 
My trouble for this sin ! in vain I weep 
For foolish words I never can unsay. 

H. S. Sutton. 

A VEXATION arises, and our expressions 
of impatience hinder others from taking 
it patiently. Disappointment, ailment, or 
even weather depresses us ; and our look or 
tone of depression hinders others from main- 
taining a cheerful and thankful spirit. We say 
an unkind thing, and another is hindered in 
learning the holy lesson of charity that thinketh 
no evil. We say a provoking thing, and our 
sister or brother is hindered in that day's effort 
to be meek. How sadly, too, we may hinder 
without word or act ! For wrong feeling is more 
infectious than wrong doing; especially the 
various phases of ill temper, — gloominess, 
touchiness, discontent, irritability, — do we not 
know how catching these are ? 

F. R. Havergal. 



52 February 21 



If ye then, being evil, know how to give good 
gifts unto your children, bow much more shall your 
Father which is in heaven give good gifts to them 
that ask Him ? — Matt. vii. 1 1. 

For His great love has compassed 

Our nature, and our need 
We know not ; but He knoweth, 

And He will bless indeed. 
Therefore, O heavenly Father, 

Give what is best to me 5 
And take the wants unanswered, 

As offerings made to Thee. Anon. 

WHATSOEVER we ask which is not for 
our good, He will keep it back from us. 
And surely in this there is no less of 
love than in the granting what we desire as we 
ought. Will not the same love which prompts 
you to give a good, prompt you to keep back 
an evil, thing f If, in our blindness, not know- 
ing what to ask, we pray for things which would 
turn in our hands tomorrow and death, will 
not our Father, out of His very love, deny us ? 
How awful would be our lot, if our wishes 
should straightway pass into realities ; if we were 
endowed with a' power to bring about all that 
we desire ; if the inclinations of our will were 
followed by fulfilment of our hasty wishes, and 
sudden longings were always granted. One day 
we shall btess Him, not more for what He has 
granted than for what He has denied. 

H. E. Manning. 



February 22 53 



Be careful for nothing ; but in everything by 
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your 
requests be made known unto God. — Phil. iv. 6. 

We tell Thee of our care, 
Of the sore burden, pressing day by day, 
And in the light and pity of Thy face, 

The burden melts away. 

We breathe our secret wish, 
The importunate longing which no man may see ; 
We ask it humbly, or, more restful still, 

We leave it all to Thee. 

Susan Coolidge. 

THAT prayer which does not succeed in 
moderating our wish, in changing the 
passionate desire into still submission, the 
anxious, tumultuous expectation into silent sur- 
render, is no true prayer, and proves that we 
have not the spirit of true prayer. That life is 
most holy in which there is least of petition and 
desire, and most of waiting upon God ; that in 
which petition most often passes into thanks- 
giving. Pray till prayer makes you forget your 
own wish, and leave it or merge it in God's 
will. The Divine wisdom has given us prayer, 
not as a means whereby to obtain the good 
things of earth, but as a means whereby we 
learn to do without them; not as a means 
whereby we escape evil, but as a means whereby 
we become strong to meet it. 

F. W. Robertson. 



54 February 23 



Let the Lord do that which is good in His sight. 
— 1 Chron. xix. 13. 

Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as 
we hope in Thee. — Ps. xxxiii. 22. 

I cannot feel 
That all is well, when darkening clouds conceal 

The shining sun ; 

But then, I know 
He lives and loves 5 and say, since it is so, 

Thy will be done. 

S. G. Browning. 

NO felt evil or defect becomes divine until 
it is inevitable ; and only when resistance 
to it is exhausted and hope has fled, does 
surrender cease to be premature. The hardness 
of our task lies here; that we have to strive 
against the grievous things of life, while hope 
remains, as if they were evil ; and then, when the 
stroke has fallen, to accept them from the hand 
of God, and doubt not they are good. But to 
the loving, trusting heart all things are possible ; 
and even this instant change, from overstrained 
will to sorrowful repose, from fullest resist- 
ance to complete surrender, is realized without 
convulsion. 

J. Martineau. 



February 24 55 



These things I have spoken unto you that in me 
ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have 
tribulation : but be of good cheer ; I have overcome 
the world. — John xvi. 33. 

O Thou, the primal fount of life and peace, 
Who shedcTst Thy breathing quiet all around, 

In me command that pain and conflict cease, 
And turn to music every jarring sound. 

J. Sterling. 

ACCUSTOM yourself to unreasonableness 
and injustice. Abide in peace in the 
presence of God, who sees all these evils 
more clearly than you do, and who permits 
them. Be content with doing with calmness 
the little which depends upon yourself, and let 
all else be to you as if it were not. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

It is rare when injustice, or slights patiently 
borne, do not leave the heart at the close of the 
day filled with marvellous joy and peace. 

Gold Dust. 



5 6 February 25 



But now thus saith the Lord that created thee 0 
Jacob, and He that formed thee, 0 Israel Fear 
not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee 
by thy name ; thou art mine. — Isa. xlm. I. 

Thou art as much His care as If beside 

Nor man nor angel lived in heaven or earth ; 

Thus sunbeams pour alike their glorious tide. 
To light up worlds, or wake an insect's mirth. 
5 J. Keble. 

GOD beholds thee individually, whoever 
thou art. " He calls thee by thy name^ 
He sees thee, and understands thee. He 
knows what is in thee, all thy own peculiar feel- 
ings and thoughts, thy dispositions and likings, 
thy strength and thy weakness. He views thee 
in thy day of rejoicing and thy day of sorrow. 
He sympathizes in thy hopes and in thy tempta- 
tions ; He interests himself in all thy anxieties 
and thy remembrances, in all the risings and 
fallings of thy spirit. He compasses thee round, 
and bears thee in His arms ; He takes thee up 
and sets thee down. Thou dost not love thy- 
self better than He loves thee. Thou canst not 
shrink from pain more than He dislikes thy 
bearing it, and if He puts it on thee, it is as 
thou wilt put it on thyself, it thou art wise, foi 
a greater good afterwards. ^ & 



February 26 57 



The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon 
Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. — Ps. 
cxlv. 18. 

/ sought the Lord, and He heard me, and de- 
livered me from all my fears. — Ps. xxxiv. 4. 

Be Thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh ! 

So shall each murmuring thought be gone 5 
And grief and fear and care shall fly, 

As clouds before the mid-day sun. 

C. Wesley. 

TAKE courage, and turn your troubles, 
which are without remedy, into material 
for spiritual progress. Often turn to our 
Lord, who is watching you, poor frail little being 
as you are, amid your labors and distractions. 
He sends you help, and blesses your affliction. 
This thought should enable you to bear your 
troubles patiently and gently, for love of Him 
who only allows you to be tried for your own 
good. Raise your heart continually to God, 
seek His aid, and let the foundation stone of 
your consolation be your happiness in being His. 
All vexations and annoyances will be compara- 
tively unimportant while you know that you 
have such a Friend, such a Stay, such a Refuge. 
May God be ever in your heart. 

St. Francis de Sales. 



5* 



February 27 



Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so shah thou 
dwell In the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.— 
Ps. xxxvii. 3. 

Build a little fence of trust 

Around to-day ; 
Fill the space with loving work, 

And therein stay ; 
Look not through the sheltering bars 

Upon to-morrow, 
God will help thee bear what comes, 

Of joy or sorrow. 

Mary Frances Butts. 



LET us bow our souls and say, « Behold the 
handmaid of the Lord ! » Let us lift up 
our hearts and ask, « Lord what : would* 
t hou have me to do ? » Then 
opened heaven shall stream on our daily task, 
revealin, the grains of gold, where yesterday all 
eemed dust; a hand shall sustain us and our 
SlTburden/so that, smiling at yesterday's ears 
we shall say, « This » easy, this ts light every 
"lion in the way," as we come up to it, shall 
b "een chained, and leave open the gates o th 
Palace Beautiful; and to us, even to u , feeble 
and fluctuating as we are, ministries shall be as- 
igned and though our hands blessings shall b 
conveyed in which the spirits of just men made 
perfect might delight. 



February 28 59 



Beloved, let us love one ayiother : for love is of 
God ; and every one that loveth is born of God, and 
knoweth God, — i John iv. 7. 

So to the calmly gathered thought 
The innermost of life is taught, 
The mystery dimly understood, 
That love of God is love of good ; 
That to be saved is only this, — 
Salvation from our selfishness. 

J. G. Whittier. 

THE Spirit of Love, wherever it is, is its 
own blessing and happiness, because it is 
the truth and reality of God in the soul ; 
and therefore is in the same joy of life, and is 
the same good to itself everywhere and on every 
occasion. Would you know the blessing of all 
blessings ? It is this God of Love dwelling in 
your soul, and killing every root of bitterness, 
which is the pain and torment of every earthly, 
selfish love. For all wants are satisfied, all dis- 
orders of nature are removed, no life is any 
longer a burden, every day is a day of peace, 
everything you meet becomes a help to you, be- 
cause everything you see or do is all done in the 
sweet, gentle element of Love. 

Wm. Law. 



6o February 29 



Unto you that fear my name shall ^ the Sun of 
Righteousness arise with healing in his wings. — 
Mal. iv.^2. 

O send out Thy light and Thy truth : let them 
lead me. — Ps. xliii. 3. 

Open our eyes, thou Sun of life and gladness, ^ 

That we may see that glorious world of Thine ! 
It shines for us in vain, while drooping sadness ^ 
Enfolds us here like mist ; come, Power benign, 
Touch our chilled hearts with vernal smile, 
Our wintry course do Thou beguile, 
Nor by the wayside ruins let us mourn, 
Who have th* eternal towers for our appointed bourn. 

J. Keble. 

BECAUSE all those scattered rays of beauty 
and loveliness which we behold spread up 
and down over all the world, are only the 
emanations of that inexhausted light which is 
above ; therefore should we love them all in that, 
and climb up always by those sunbeams unto the 
eternal Father of lights : we should look upon 
Him, and take from Him the pattern of our lives, 
and always eying Him, should, as Hierocles 
speaks, "polish and shape our souls into the 
clearest resemblance of Him;" and in all our 
behavior in this world (that great temple of His) 
deport ourselves decently and reverently, with 
that humility, meekness, and modesty that be- 
comes His house. 

Dr. John Smith. 



March i 



61 



Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, 
or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what 
ye shall put on. — Matt. vi. 25. 

One there lives whose guardian eye 
Guides our earthly destiny 5 
One there lives, who, Lord of all, 
Keeps His children lest they fall 5 
Pass we, then, in love and praise, 
Trusting Him through all our days, 
Free from doubt and faithless sorrow, — 
God provideth for the morrow. 

R. Heber. 

IT has been well said that no man ever sank 
under the burden of the day. It is when 
to-morrow's burden is added to the burden 
of to-day that the weight is more than a man 
can bear. Never load yourselves so, my friends. 
If you find yourselves so loaded, at least remem- 
ber this : it is your own doing, not God's. He 
begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind 
the present. 

G. Macdonald. 

Cast thy burdens upon the Lord, — hand it over, 
heave it upon Him, — and He shall sustain thee ; 
shall bear both^ if thou trust Him with both, 
both thee and thy burden : He shall never suffer 
the righteous to be moved. 

Robert Leighton. 



6a March 2 



But to do good and to communicate forget not : 
for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.— 
Heb. xiii. 16. 

For this is the message that ye heard from the 
beginning, that ice should love one another.— I 
John iii. U- 

Be useful where thou livest, that they may 
Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still. 

Find out men's wants and will, 
And meet them there. All worldly joys go less 
To the one joy of doing kindnesses. ^ HerB£RT _ 

LET the weakest, let the humblest remem- 
ber, that in his daily course he can, if he 
will, shed around him almost a heaven. 
Kindly words, sympathizing attentions, watch- 
fulness against wounding men's sensitiveness, — 
these cost very little, but they are priceless in 
their value. Are thev not almost the staple ot 
our daily happiness r ' From hour to hour, from 
moment to moment, we are supported, blest, by 
small kindnesses. F. W. Robertson. 



Small kindnesses, small courtesies, smal 
considerations, habitually practised in our social 
intercourse, give a greater charm to the charac- 
ter than the display of great talents ana accom- 
plishments. K.ELTY. 



March 3 



63 



/ made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy com- 
mandments. — Ps. cxix. 60. 

Te know not what shall be on the morrow. — 
James iv. 14. 

Never delay 
To do the duty which the hour brings, 
Whether it be in great or smaller things ; 

For who doth know 
What he shall do the coming day ? 

Anon. 

IT is quite impossible that an idle, floating 
spirit can ever look up with clear eye to 
God ; spreading its miserable anarchy before 
the symmetrv of the creative Mind; in the 
midst of a disorderly being, that has neither 
centre nor circumference, kneeling beneath the 
glorious sky, that everywhere has both ; and for 
a life that is all failure, turning to the Lord of 
the silent stars, of whose punctual thought it is, 
that " not one faileth." The heavens, with 
their everlasting faithfulness, look down on no 
sadder contradiction, than the sluggard and the 
slattern in their prayers. 

J. Martineau. 



6 4 



March 4 



But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of 
God, and there shall no torment touch them. In 
the sight of the unwise they seemed to die^ : and 
their departure is taken for misery, and their going 
from us to be utter destruction : but they are in 
peace. — Wisdom of Solomon iii. 1-3. 

But souls that of His own good life partake, 
He loves as His own self 5 dear as His eye 
They are to Him : He '11 never them forsake : 
When they shall die, then God Himself shall die 5 
They live, they live in blest eternity. 

J Henry More, 



THOUGH every good man is not so logi- 
cally subtile as to be able by fit mediums 
to demonstrate his own immortality, yet 
he sees it in a higher light: his soul, being 
purged and enlightened by true sanctity, is more 
capable of those divine irradiations, whereby it 
feels itself in conjunction with God. It knows 
that God will never forsake His own life which 
He hath quickened in it ; He will never deny 
those ardent desires of a blissful fruition of 
Himself, which the lively sense of His own 
goodness hath excited within it : those breath- 
ings and gaspings after an eternal participation 
of Him are but the energy of His own breath 
within us ; if He had had any mind to destroy 
it, He would never have shown it such things 
as He hath done. Dr. John Smith. 



March 5 



65 



And every man that hath this hope in him puri- 
fieth himself, even as He is pure. — I John iii. 3. 

Now, Lord, what wait I for ? 

On Thee alone 
My hope is all rested, — 

Lord, seal me Thine own ! 
Only Thine own to be, 
Only to live to Thee. 

Thine, with each day begun, 
Thine, with each set of sun, 
Thine, till my work is done. 

Anna Warner. 



NOW, believe me, God hides some ideal in 
every human soul. At some time in our 
life we feel a trembling, fearful longing 
to do some good thing. Life finds its noblest 
spring of excellence in this hidden impulse to do 
our best. There is a time when we are not 
content to be such merchants or doctors or 
lawyers as we see on the dead level or below it. 
The woman longs to glorify her womanhood as 
sister, wife, or mother. Here is God, — God 
standing silently at the door all day long, — God 
whispering to the soul, that to be pure and true 
is to succeed in life, and whatever we get short 
of that will burn up like stubble, though the 
whole world try to save it. 

Robert Collyer. 



5 



66 



March 6 



The shadow of a great rock in a weary land. — 
Isa. xxxii. 2. 

In returning and rest shall ye be saved ; in 
quietness and in confide?ice shall be your strength. — 
Isa. xxx. 15. 

O Shadow in a sultry land ! 

We gather to Thy breast, 
Whose love, enfolding like the night, 

Brings quietude and rest, 
Glimpse of the fairer life to be, 

In foretaste here possessed. 

C. M. Packard. 

STRIVE to see God in all things without 
exception, and acquiesce in His will with 
absolute submission. Do everything for 
God, uniting yourself to Him by a mere upward 
glance, or by the overflowing of your heart 
towards Him. Never be in a hurry ; do every- 
thing quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose 
your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even 
if your whole world seems upset. Commend all 
to' God, and then lie still and be at rest in His 
bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a 
determination to cling simply to God, trusting 
to His eternal love for you ; and if you find that 
you have wandered forth from this shelter, recall 
your heart quietly and simply. Maintain a holy 
simplicity of mind, and do not smother yourself 
with a host of cares, wishes, or longings, under 
any pretext. St. Francis de Sales. 



March 7 



67 



There are diversities of operations, but it is the 
same God which worketh all in all. — I Cor. 
xii. 6. 

/ form the light, and create darkness : I make 
peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these 
things. — Isa. xlv. 7. 

" All is of God that is, and is to be 5 

And God is good." Let this suffice us still, 

Resting in childlike trust upon His will, 

Who moves to His great ends, unthwarted by the ill. 

J. G. Whittier. 

THIS, then, is of faith, that everything, the 
very least, or what seems to us great, 
every change of the seasons, everything 
which touches us in mind, body, or estate, 
whether brought about through this outward 
senseless nature", or by the will of man, good or 
bad, is overruled to each of us by the all-holy 
and all-loving will of God. Whatever befalls 
us, however it befalls us, we must receive as the 
will of God. If it befalls us through man's 
negligence, or ill-will, or anger, still it is, in 
every the least circumstance, to us the will of 
God. For if the least thing could happen to us 
without God's permission, it would be something 
out of God's control. God's providence or His 
love would not be what they are. Almighty 
God Himself would not be the same God ; not 
the God whom we believe, adore, and love. 

E. B. Pusey. 



68 



March 8 



Study to show thyself approved unto God^ a work- 
man that needeth not to be ashamed. — 2 Tim. 
ii. 15. 

And let us not be weary in well-doing : for in 
due season we shall reap if we faint not. — Gal. 
vi. 9. 

The task Thy wisdom hath assigned, 

Oh, let me cheerfully fulfil 5 
In all my works Thy presence find, 

And prove Thine acceptable will. 

C. Wesley. 

U T17 HAT is m y next duty ' What is the 

V V thing that lies nearest to me ? " 

" That belongs to your every-day his- 
tory. No one can answer that question but 
yourself. Your next duty is just to determine 
what your next duty is. Is there nothing you 
neglect ? Is there nothing you know you ought 
not to do ? You would know your duty, if you 
thought in earnest about it, and were not ambi- 
tious of great things." u Ah, then," responded 
she, " I suppose it is something very common- 
place, which will make life more dreary than 
ever. That cannot help me." " It will, if it 
be as dreary as reading the newspapers to an old 
deaf aunt. It will soon lead you to something 
more. Your dutv will begin to comfort you at 
once, but will at length open the unknown foun- 
tain of life in your heart." 

G. Macdonald. 



March 9 



69 



Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in 
all that thou puttest thine hands unto, — Deut. 
xii. 18. 

Be ye thankful. ■ — Col. iii. 15. 

Thou that hast given so much to me, 
Give one thing more, a grateful heart. 
Not thankful when it pleaseth me, 
As if thy blessings had spare days ; 
But such a heart, whose pulse may be 
Thy praise. 

G. Herbert. 

IF any one would tell you the shortest, surest 
way to all happiness and all perfection, he 
must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to 
thank and praise God for everything that hap- 
pens to you. For it is certain that whatever 
seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank 
and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing. 
Could you, therefore, work miracles, you could 
not do more for yourself than by this thankful 
spirit ; for it heals with a word speaking, and 
turns all that it touches into happiness. 

Wm. Law. 



7 o March 10 

When thou passest through the waters, I will be 
with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not 
overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire, 
thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame 
kindle upon thee. — Isa. xliii. 2. 

I am with thee to deliver thee. — Jer. I. 8. 

When through the deep waters I call thee to go, 
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow ; 
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless, 
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. Anon. 

TURN it as thou wilt, thou must give thy- 
self to suffer what is appointed thee. But 
if we did that, God would bear us up at 
all times in all our sorrows and troubles, and 
God would lay His shoulder under our burdens, 
and help us to bear them. For if, with a cheer- 
ful courage, we submitted ourselves to God, no 
suffering would be unbearable. J. Tauler. 

Learn to be as the angel, who could descend 
among the miseries of Bethesda without los.ng 
his heavenly purity or his perfect happiness. 
Gain healing from troubled waters. Make up 
your mind to the prospect of sustaining a certain 
measure of pain and trouble in your passage 
through life. By the blessing of God this will 
prepare you for it ; it will make you thought- 
ful and resigned without interfering with your 
cheerfulness. J- H - Newman " 



March n 7 1 



Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall 
sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous 
to be moved. — Ps. lv. 22. 

Now our wants and burdens leaving 

To His care who cares for all, 
Cease we fearing, cease we grieving, 

At His touch our burdens fall. 

S. Longfellow. 

THE circumstances of her life she could not 
alter, but she took them to the Lord, and 
handed them over into His management \ 
and then she believed that He took it, and she 
left all the responsibility and the worry and 
anxiety with Him. As often as the anxieties 
returned she took them back; and the result 
was that, although the circumstances remained 
unchanged, her soul was kept in perfect peace 
in the midst of them. And the secret she found 
so effectual in her outward affairs, she found to 
be still more effectual in her inward ones, which 
were in truth even more utterly unmanageable. 
She abandoned her whole self to the Lord, with 
all that she was and all that she had ; and, 
believing that He took that which she had com- 
mitted to Him, she ceased to fret and worry, 
and her life became all sunshine in the gladness 
of belonging to Him. 

H. W. Smith. 



7 2 March 12 

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord 
make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto 
thee : the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, 
and give thee peace. — Num. vi. 24-26. 

O Love, how cheering is Thy ray ! 

All pain before Thy presence flies ; 
Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away, _ 

Where'er Thy healing beams arise. 
O Father, nothing may I see, 
Nothing desire, or seek, but Thee. 

P. Gerhardt. 



T 



,HERE is a faith in God, and a clear per- 
ception of His will and designs, and 
providence, and glory, which gives to its 
possessor a confident and patience and sweet 
composure, under every varied and troubling 
aspect of events, such as no man can realize 
who has not felt its influences in his own heart. 
There is a communion with God, in which the 
soul feels the presence of the unseen One, in 
the profound depths of its being, w.th a vivid 
distinctness and a holy reverence, such as no 
words can describe. There is a state of union 
with God, I do not say often reached yet 
has been attained in this world, in which all 
the past and present and future seem reconciled 
and eternity is won and enjoyed ; and God ana 
man, earth and heaven, with all their mysteries 
are apprehended in truth as they lie in the mind 
of the Infinite. Samuel D. Robbins. 



March 13 73 



He that abideth in me, and I in him, bringeth 
forth much fruit. — John xv. 5. 

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. 
— Ps. xc. 17. 

As some rare perfume in a vase of clay 

Pervades it with a fragrance not its own, 
So, when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul, 

All Heaven s own sweetness seems around it thrown. 

H. B. Stowe. 

SOME glances of real beauty may be seen in 
their faces, who dwell in true meekness. 
There is a harmony in the sound of that 
voice to which Divine love gives utterance, and 
some appearance of right order in their temper 
and conduct whose passions are regulated. 

John Woolman. 

I believe that no Divine truth can truly dwell 
in any heart, without an external testimony in 
manner, bearing, and appearance, that must reach 
the witness within the heart of the beholder, and 
bear an unmistakable, though silent, evidence to 
the eternal principle from which it emanates. 

M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK. 



74 



March 14 



1 have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, 
O God : incline Thine ear unto me, and hear my 
speech, — Ps. xvii. 6. 

Te people, pour out, your heart before Him : God 
is a refuge for us. — Ps. Ixii. 8. 

Whate'er the care which breaks thy rest, 
Whate'er the wish that swells thy breast ; 
Spread before God that wish, that care, 
And change anxiety to prayer. 

Jane Crewdson. 

TROUBLE and perplexity drive us to 
prayer, and prayer driveth away trouble 
and perplexity. 

P. Melancthon. 

Whatsoever it is that presses thee, go tell thy 
Father \ put over the matter into His hand, and 
so thou shalt be freed from that dividing, per- 
plexing care that the world is full of. When 
thou art either to do or suffer anything, when 
thou art about any purpose or business, go tell 
God of it, and acquaint Him with it 5 yea, 
burden Him with it, and thou hast done for 
matter of caring ; no more care, but quiet, 
sweet diligence in thy duty, and dependence on 
Him for the carriage of thy matters. Roll thy 
cares, and thyself with them, as one burden, all 
on thy God. 

R. Leighton. 



March 15 



75 



Hear me, O Lord, for Thy loving-kindness is 
good : turn unto me according to the multitude of 
Thy tender mercies, — Ps. lxix. 1 6. 

Let, I pray Thee, Thy merciful kindness be for 
my comfort, according to Thy word unto Thy 
servant. — Ps. cxix. 76. 

Love divine has seen and counted 

Every tear it caused to fall 5 
And the storm which Love appointed 

Was its choicest gift of all. 

Anon. 

O THAT thou couldst dwell in the knowl- 
edge and sense of this ! even, that the 
Lord beholds thy sufferings with an eye 
of pity ; and is able, not only to uphold thee 
under them, but also to do thee good by them. 
Therefore, grieve not at thy lot, be not discon- 
tented, look not out at the hardness of thy con- 
dition ; but, when the storm and matters of 
vexation are sharp, look up to Him who can 
give meekness and patience, can lift up thy head 
over all, and cause thy life to grow, and be a 
gainer by all. If the Lord God help thee pro- 
portionably to thy condition of affliction and 
distress, thou wilt have no cause to complain, 
but to bless His name. 

I. Penington. 



7 6 March 16 



Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatso- 
ever ye do, do all to the glory of God. — I Cor. 
x. 31. 

With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and 
not unto men. — -Eph. vi. 7. 



A servant, with this clause, 

Makes drudgery divine : 
Who sweeps a room, as for Thy laws, 

Makes that and th* action fine. 

G. Herbert. 



SURELY the truth must be, that whatsoever 
in our daily life is lawful and right for us 
to be engaged in, is in itself a part of our 
obedience to God ; a part, that is, of our very 
religion. Whensoever we hear people complain- 
ing of obstructions and hindrances put by the 
duties of life in the way of devoting themselves 
to God, we may be sure they are under some 
false view or other. They do not look upon 
their daily work as the task God has set them, 
and as obedience due to Him. We may go 
farther ; and say, not only that the duties of 
life, be they never so toilsome and distracting, 
are' no obstructions to a . life of any degree of 
inward holiness ; but that they are even direct 
means, when rightly used, to promote our 
sanctification. 

H. E. Manning. 



March 17 



77 



Where hast thou gleaned to-day ? — Ruth ii. 19. 

What have I learnt where'er I 've been, 
From all I've heard, from all I 've seen ? 
What know I more that's worth the knowing ? 
What have I done that 's worth the doing ? 
What have I sought that I should shun ? 
What duties have I left undone ? 

Pythagoras. 



ALL of this world will soon have passed 
away. But God will remain, and thou, 
whatever thou hast become, good or bad. 
Thy deeds now are the seed-corn of eternity. 
Each single act, in each several day, good or 
bad, is a portion of that seed. Each day adds 
some line, making thee more or less like Him, 
more or less capable of His love. 

E. B. Pusey. 



There is something very solemn in the 
thought that that part of our work which we 
have left undone may first be revealed to us at 
the end of a life filled up, as we had fondly 
hoped, with useful and necessary employments. 

Sarah W. Stephen. 



78 



March 18 



Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion 
one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be 
courteous. — I Peter iii. 8. 

Make us of one heart and mind ; 
Courteous, pitiful, and kind ; 
Lowly, meek, in thought and word, 
Altogether like our Lord. 

C. Wesley. 

A LITTLE thought will show you how 
vastly your own happiness depends on the 
way other people bear themselves toward 
you. The looks and tones at your breakfast- 
table, the conduct of your fellow-workers or 
employers, the faithful or unreliable men you 
deal with, what people say to you on the street, 
the way your cook and housemaid do their work, 
the letters you get, the friends or foes you meet, 
these things make up very much of the pleas- 
ure or misery of your day. Turn the idea 
around, and remember that just so much are 
you adding to the pleasure or the misery of other 
people's days. And this is the half of the mat- 
ter which you can control. Whether any par- 
ticular day shall bring to you more of happiness 
or of suffering is largely beyond your power to 
determine. Whether each day of your life shall 
give happiness or suffering rests with yourself. 

George S. Merriam. 



March 19 



79 



Showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn 
the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. — 
Titus ii. 10. 

If on our daily course our mind 

Be set to hallow all we find, 

New treasures still, of countless price, 

God will provide for sacrifice. j Keble. 

IF content and thankfulness, if the patient 
bearing of evil, be duties to God, they are 
the duties of every day, and in every circum- 
stance of our life. If we are to follow Christ, 
it must be in our common way of spending every 
day. Wm. Law. 

He who is faithful over a few things is a lord 
of cities. It does not matter whether you preach 
in Westminster Abbey, or teach a ragged class, 
so you be faithful. The faithfulness is all. 

G. Macdonald. 

I would have you invoke God often through 
the day, asking Him to kindle a love for your 
vocation within you, and saying with St. Paul, 
"'Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do?' 
Wouldst Thou have me serve Thee in the low- 
est ministries of Thy house ? too happy if I may 
but serve Thee anyhow." And when any spe- 
cial thing is repugnant to you, ask " Wouldst 
Thou have me do it? Then, unworthy though 
I be, I will do it gladly." St. Francis de Sales. 



8o March 20 



Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him 
only shalt thou serve.— Matt. iv. 10. 

Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and 
that seek Him with the whole heart.— Ps. cxix. 2. 



The comfort of a mind at rest 
From every care Thou hast not blest ; 
A heart from all the world set free, 
To worship and to wait on Thee. 

A. L. Waring. 



RESIGN every forbidden joy ; restrain every 
wish that is' not referred to His will; ban- 
ish all eager desires, all anxiety. Desire 
only the will of God ; seek Him alone, and you 
will find peace. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

« I 've been a great deal happier since I have 
given up thinking about what is easy and pleas- 
ant, and being discontented because I could nt 
have my own will. Our life is determined for 
us; and it makes the mind very free when we 
give up wishing, and only think of bearing what 
is laid upon us, and doing what is given us to 

George Eliot. 



March 21 



81 



Tour heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need 
of all these things. — Matt. vi. 32. 

All as God wills, who wisely heeds 

To give or to withhold 5 
And knoweth more of all my needs 

Than all my prayers have told. 

J. G. Whittier. 

LORD, I know not what I ought to ask of 
Thee ; Thou only knowest what I need ; 
Thou West me better than I know how 
to love myself. O Father ! give to Thy child 
that which he himself knows not how to ask. 
I dare not ask either for crosses or consolations ; 
I simply present myself before Thee ; I open 
my heart to Thee. Behold my needs which I 
know not myself ; see, and do according to Thy 
tender mercy. Smite, or heal; depress me, or 
raise me up; I adore all Thy purposes without 
knowing them ; I am silent ; I offer myself in 
sacrifice ; I yield myself to Thee ; I would have 
no other desire than to accomplish Thy will. 
Teach me to pray ; pray Thyself in me. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 



6 



82 March 22 



He that contemnetb small things shall fall by 
little and little. — Ecclesiasticus xix. I. 



One finger' s-breadth at hand will mar 
A world of light in heaven afar, 
A mote eclipse a glorious star, 
An eyelid hide the sky. 

J. Keble. 



A SINGLE sin, however apparently trifling, 
however hidden in some obscure corner 
of our consciousness,— a sin which we 
do not intend to renounce, — is enough to render 
real prayer impracticable. A course of action 
not wholly upright and honorable, feelings not 
entirely kind and loving, habits not spotlessly 
chaste and temperate, — any of these are impas- 
sable obstacles. If we know of a kind act 
which we might, but do not intend to perform, 
_ if we be aware that our moral health re- 
quires the abandonment of some pleasure which 
yet we do not intend to abandon, here is cause 
enough for the loss of all spiritual power. 

F. P. COBBE. 



It is astonishing how soon the whole con- 
science begins to unravel, if a single stitch 
drops 5 one little sin indulged makes a hole you 
could put your head through. 



Charles Buxton. 



March 23 



83 



Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou 
doest. — 3 John 5. 

And this also we wish, even your perfection. — 
2 Cor. xiii. 9. 

In all the little things of life, 

Thyself, Lord, may I see ; 
In little and in great alike 

Reveal Thy love to me. 

So shall my undivided life 

To Thee, my God, be given 5 

And all this earthly course below 

Be one dear path to heaven. H. Bonar. 

IN order to mould thee into entire conformity 
to His will, He must have thee pliable in 
His hands, and this pliability is more quickly 
reached by yielding in the little things than even 
by the greater. Thy one great desire is to 
follow Him fully ; canst thou not say then a 
continual " yes " to all His sweet commands, 
whether small or great, and trust Him to lead 
thee by the shortest road to thy fullest blessed- 
ness ? 

H. W. Smith. 

With meekness, humility, and diligence, 
apply yourself to the duties of your condition. 
They are the seemingly little things which make 
no noise that do the business. 

Henry More. 



8 4 



March 24 



/ will both lay me down in peace, and sleep : for 
Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. — 
Ps. iv. 8. 

He giveth His beloved sleep. — Ps. cxxvii. 2. 

He guides our feet, He guards our way, 
His morning smiles bless all the day ; 
He spreads the evening veil, and keeps 
The silent hours while Israel sleeps. 

I. Watts. 

WE sleep in peace in the arms of God, 
when we yield ourselves up to His 
providence, in a delightful conscious- 
ness of His tender mercies; no more restless 
uncertainties, no more anxious desires, no more 
impatience at the place we are in; for it is God 
who has put us there, and who holds us in His 
arms. Can we be unsafe where He has placed us ? 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

One evening when Luther saw a little bird 
perched on a tree, to roost there for the night, 
he said, "This little bird has had its supper, 
and now it is getting ready to go to sleep here, 
quite secure and content, never troubling itself 
what its food will be, or where its lodging on 
the morrow. Like David, it c abides under the 
shadow of the Almighty.' It sits on its little 
twig content, and lets God take care." 

Martin Luther. 



March 25 



/ will hear what God the Lord will speak : 
for He will speak peace unto His people. — Ps. 
lxxxv. 8. 

There is a voice, " a still, small voice 1 ' of love, 

Heard from above 5 
But not amidst the din of earthly sounds, 

Which here confounds 5 
By those withdrawn apart it best is heard, 
And peace, sweet peace, breathes in each gentle word. 

Anonymous. 

HE speaketh, but it is with us to hearken or 
no. It is much, yea, it is everything, 
not to turn away the ear, to be willing to 
hearken, not to drown His voice. " The secret 
of the Lord is with them that fear Him." It is 
a secret, hushed voice, a gentle intercourse of 
heart to heart, a still, small voice, whispering to 
the inner ear. How should we hear it, if we 
fill our ears and our hearts with the din of this 
world, its empty tumult, its excitement, its fret- 
ting vanities, or cares, or passions, or anxieties, or 
show, or rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses ? 

E. B. Pusey. 



86 



March 26 



Are they not all ministering spirits ? — Heb. 

i. 14' May I reach 

That purest heaven, be to other souls 
The cup of strength in some great agony, 
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, 
Be the sweet presence of a good diffused, 
And in diffusion ever more intense ! 
So shall I join the choir invisible 
Whose music is the gladness of the world. 

George Eliot. 

CERTAINLY, in our own little sphere it 
is not the most active people to whom we 
owe the most. Among the common 
people whom we know, it is not necessarily 
those who are busiest, not those who, meteor- 
like, are ever on the rush after some visible 
charge and work. It is the lives, like the stars, 
which simply pour down on us the calm light of 
their bright' and faithful being, up to which we 
look and out of which we gather the deepest 
calm and courage. It seems to me that there is 
reassurance here for many of us who seem to 
have no chance for active usefulness. We can 
do nothing for our fellow-men. But still it is 
good to know that we can be something for them ; 
to know (and this we may know surely) that no 
man or woman of the humblest sort can really 
be strong, gentle, pure, and good, without the 
world being better for it, without somebody 
being helped and comforted by the very exist- 
ence of that goodness. Phillips Brooks. 



March 27 



87 



If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and 
His love is perfected in us. — I John iv. 12. 

And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth 
in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know 
that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He 
hath given us. — I John iii. 24. 

Abide in me 5 o'ershadow by Thy love 
Each half-formed purpose and dark thought of sin ; 
Quench, ere it rise, each selfish, low desire, 
And keep my soul as Thine, calm and divine. 

H. B. Stowe. 

THE Spirit of Love must work the works, 
and speak the tones, of Love. It cannot 
exist and give no sign, or a false sign. 
It cannot be a spirit of Love, and mantle into 
irritable and selfish impatience. It cannot be a 
spirit of Love, and at the same time make self 
the prominent object. It cannot rejoice to lend 
itself to the happiness of others, and at the same 
time be seeking its own. It cannot be generous, 
and envious- It cannot be sympathizing, and 
unseemly ; self-forgetful, and vain-glorious. It 
cannot delight in the rectitude and purity of 
other hearts, as the spiritual elements of their 
peace, and yet unnecessarily suspect them. 

J. H. Thom. 



88 



March 28 



Giving thanks always for all things unto God. 
— Eph. v. 20. 

For blessings of the fruitful season, 

For work and rest, for friends and home, 

For the great gifts of thought and reason, — 
To praise and bless Thee, Lord, we come. 

Yes, and for weeping and for wailing, 

For bitter hail and blighting frost, 
For high hopes on the low earth trailing, 

For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed. 

E. Scudder. 

NOTWITHSTANDING all that I have 
suffered, notwithstanding all the pain and 
weariness and anxiety and sorrow that 
necessarily enter into life, and the inward errings 
that are worse than all, I would end my record 
with a devout thanksgiving to the great Author 
of my being. For more and more am I unwill- 
ing to make my gratitude to Him what is com- 
monly called "a thanksgiving for mercies," — 
for any benefits or blessings that are peculiar to 
myself, or my friends, or indeed to any man. 
Instead of this, I would have it to be gratitude 
for all that belongs to my life and being, — for 
joy and sorrow, for health and sickness, for suc- 
cess and disappointment, for virtue and for temp- 
tation, for life and death; because I believe that 
all is meant for good. 

Orville Dewey. 



March 29 



89 



There shall no evil befall thee. — Ps. xci. 10. 

Whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, 
and shall be quiet from fear of evil. — Prov. i. 33. 

I ask not, " Take away this weight of care ; " 
No, for that love I pray that all can bear, 

And for the faith that whatsoe'er befall 
Must needs be good, and for my profit prove, 
Since from my Father's heart most rich in love, 

And from His bounteous hands it cometh all. 

C. J. P. Spitta. 

BE like the promontory, against which the 
waves continually break ; but it stands 
firm, and tames the fury of the water 
around it. Unhappy am I, because this has 
happened to me ? Not so, but happy am I, 
though this has happened to me, because I con- 
tinue free from pain, neither crushed by the 
present, nor fearing the future. Will then this 
which has happened prevent thee from being 
just, magnanimous, temperate, prudent, secure 
against inconsiderate opinions and falsehood ? 
Remember, too, on every occasion which leads 
thee to vexation to apply this principle : that 
this is not a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly 
is good fortune. 

Marcus Antoninus. 



9 o March 30 

Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and 
afterward receive me to glory. — Ps. lxxm. 24. 

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of 
God. — Heb. iv. 9. 

Guide us through life ; and when at last 

We enter into rest, 
Thy tender arms around us cast, 

And fold us to Thy breast. 

H. F. Lyte. 

GO forth to meet the solemnities and to 
conquer the trials of existence, believing 
in a Shepherd of your souls. Then faith 
in Him will support you in duty, and duty firmly 
done will strengthen faith ; till at last, when all 
is over here, and the noise and strife of the 
earthly battle fades upon your dying ear, and you 
hear, instead thereof, the deep and musical sound 
of the ocean of eternity, and see the lights ot 
heaven shining on its waters still and fair in 
their radiant rest, your faith will raise the song 
of conquest, and in its retrospect of the lite 
which has ended, and its forward glance upon 
the life to come, take up the poetic inspiration 
of the Hebrew king, " Surely goodness and 
mercy have followed me all the days of my lite, 
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 

forever." . ^ 

Stopford A. Brooke. 



March 31 



9 1 



Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the 
field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace 
with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle 
shall be in peace. — Job v. 23, 24. 

Love had he found in huts where poor men lie ; 
His daily teachers had been woods and rills, 
The silence that is in the starry sky, 
The sleep that is among the lonely hills. 

W. Wordsworth. 



fT^HAT spirit which suffices quiet hearts, 
which seems to come forth to such from 
every dry knoll of sere grass, from every 
pine-stump, and half-embedded stone, on which 
the dull March sun shines, comes forth to the 
poor and hungry, and to such as are of simple 
taste. * If thou fill thy brain with Boston and 
New York, with fashion and covetousness, 
and wilt stimulate thy jaded senses with wine 
and French coffee, thou shalt find no radiance 
of wisdom in the lonely waste of the pine-woods. 

R. W. Emerson. 



As a countenance is made beautiful by the 
soul's shining through it, so the world is beauti- 
ful by the shining through it of a God. 

Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi. 



9 2 



April i 



For Thou lovest all the things that are, and 
abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for 
never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou 
hadst hated it. But Thou sparest all : for they 
are Thine, O Lord, Thou lover of souls. —Wisdom 
of Solomon xi. 24, 26. 



He prayeth well who loveth well 

Both' man and bird and beast ; 
He prayeth best who loveth best 

All things both great and small ; 
For the dear God who loveth us, 

He made and loveth all. 

S. T. Coleridge. 



TO know that Love alone was the begin- 
ning of nature and creature, that nothing 
but Love encompasses the whole uni- 
verse of things, that the governing Hand that 
overrules all, the watchful Eye that sees through 
all is nothing but omnipotent and omniscient 
Love, using an infinity of wisdom, to save every 
misguided creature from the miserable works 
of its own hands, and make happiness and glory 
the perpetual inheritance of all the creation, is 
a reflection that must be quite ravishing to every 
intelligent creature that is sensible of it. 

Wm. Law. 



April 2 



93 



Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and 
that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? — i Cor. 
iii. 16. 

Father ! replenish with Thy grace 

This longing heart of mine ; 
Make it Thy quiet dwelling-place, 

Thy sacred inmost shrine! 

JOHANN SCHEFFLER. 

NOT man's manifold labors, but his mani- 
fold cares, hinder the presence of God. 
Whatsoever thou doest, hush thyself to 
thine own feverish vanities, and busy thoughts, 
and cares ; in silence seek thy Father's face, and 
the light of His countenance will stream down 
upon thee. He will make a secret cell in thine 
heart, and when thou enterest there, there shalt 
thou find Him. And if thou hast found Him 
there, all around shall reflect Him, all shall speak 
to Him, and He will speak through all. Out- 
wardly thou mayest be doing the work of thy 
calling ; inwardly if thou commend thy work to 
God, thou mayest be with Him in the third 
Heaven. 

E. B. Pusey. 



94 A P ril 3 

As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered 
thee so to do. — Deut. xviu. 14. 

Lord, tor the erring thought 
Not into evil wrought 5 
Lord, for the wicked will 
Betrayed and baffled still ; 
For the heart from itself kept, 
Our Thanksgiving accept. ^ ^ Hqwells . 



W 



HAT an amazing, what a blessed dis- 
proportion between the evil we do, and 
the evil we are capable of doing, and 
seem sometimes on the very verge ot doing 
If mv soul has grown tares, when it was ful of 
he seeds of nightshade how ^«"£*2 
be ' And that the tares have not whollj strangiea 
the wheat, what a wonder it is ! V e ought to 
Ink God daily for the sins we h^not 
committed. 

AVE rive thanks often with a tearful, doubt- 
ful voice for our spiritual mercies positive ; but 
w at n 'almost infinite field there is for mercies 
negative ! We cannot even imagine all that 
God has suffered us not to do, * to 

You are surprised at your imperfections - 
W hv° I should infer from that, that your self- 
knowledge is small. Surely, you mi ghtra* 
he astonished that you do not fall into more 
frequ m and more grievous faults, and thank God 
for His upholding grace. Jean Nicolas G.ov. 



April 4 



95 



Well done, good and faithful servant ; thou hast 
been faithful over a few things, I will make thee 
ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of 
thy Lord. — Matt. xxv. 23. 

O Father! help us to resign 

Our hearts, our strength, our wills to Thee ; 
Then even lowliest work of Thine 

Most noble, blest, and sweet will be. 

H. M. Kimball. 

N^OTHING is too little to be ordered by 
our Father ; nothing too little in which 
to see His hand ; nothing, which touches 
our souls, too little to accept from Him ; noth- 
ing too little to be done to Him. 

E. B. Pusey. 

A soul occupied with great ideas best per- 
forms small duties ; the divinest views of life 
penetrate most clearly into the meanest emer- 
gencies ; so far from petty principles being best 
proportioned to petty , trials, a heavenly spirit 
taking up its abode with us can alone sustain 
well the daily toils, and tranquilly pass the 
humiliations of our condition. 

J. Martineau. 

Whoso neglects a thing which he suspects he 
ought to do, because it seems to him too small a 
thing, is deceiving himself ; it is not too little, 
but too great for him, that he doeth it not. 

E. B. Pusey. 



9 6 



April 5 



Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all 
the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and 
every mouth which hath not kissed him. — I Kings 



xix. i! 



HE went down to the great school with 
a glimmering of another lesson in his 
heart, — the lesson that he who has 
conquered his own coward spirit has conquered 
the whole outward world ; and that other one 
which the old prophet learnt in the cave in 
Mount Horeb, when he hid his face, and the 
still small voice asked, « What doest thou here, 
Elijah ? " that however we may fancy ourselves 
alone on the side of good, the King and Lord 
of men is nowhere without His witnesses; for 
in every society, however seemingly corrupt 
and godless, there are those who have not 
bowed the knee to Baal. Thomas Hughes. 

So, then, Elijah's life had been no failure 
after all. Seven thousand at least in Israel had 
been braced and encouraged by his example, 
and silently blessed him, perhaps, for the cour- 
age which 'they felt. In God's world, for those 
who are in earnest there is no failure. No work 
truly done, no word earnestly spoken, no sacri- 
fice freely made, was ever made in vain. 

F. W. Robertson. 



April 6 



97 



In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy 
comforts delight my soul. — Ps. xciv. 19. 

Perplexed, but not in despair; cast down, but 
not destroyed. — 2 Cor. iv. 8, 9. 

Discouraged in the work of life, 

Disheartened by its load, 
Shamed by its failures or its fears, 

I sink beside the road ; — 
But let me only think of Thee, 
And then new heart springs up in me. 

S. Longfellow. 

DISCOURAGEMENT is an inclination 
to give up all attempts after the devout 
life, in consequence of the difficulties by 
which it is beset, and our already numerous 
failures in it. We lose heart ; and partly in ill- 
temper, partly in real doubt of our own ability 
to persevere, we first grow querulous and peev- 
ish with God, and then relax in our efforts to 
mortify ourselves and to please Him. It is a 
sort of shadow of despair, and will lead us into 
numberless venial sins the first half-hour we 
give way to it. F. W. Faber. 

Never let us be discouraged with ourselves; 
it is not when we are conscious of our faults 
that we are the most wicked ; on the contrary, 
we are less so. We see by a brighter light ; 
and let us remember, for our consolation, that 
we never perceive our sins till we begin to cure 
them. Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

7 



9 8 April 7 



That ye may prove what is that good, and accept- 
able, and perfect will of God. — Rom. xii. 2. 

Thou knowest what is best ; 

And who but Thee, O God, hath power to know ? 
In Thy great will my trusting heart shall rest ; 

Beneath that will my humble head shall bow. 

T. C. Upham. 

TO those who are His, all things are not 
only easy to be borne, but even to be 
gladly chosen. Their will is united to 
that will which moves heaven and earth, which 
gives laws to angels, and rules the courses of 
the world. It is a wonderful gift of God to 
man, of which we that know so little must 
needs speak little. To be at the centre of that 
motion, where is everlasting rest ; to be sheltered 
in the peace of God ; even now to dwell in 
heaven, where all hearts are stayed, and all 
hopes fulfilled. " Thou shalt keep him in 
perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee." 

H. E. Manning. 

Study to follow His will in all, to have no 
will but His. This is thy duty, and thy wis- 
dom. Nothing is gained by spurning and 
struggling but to hurt and vex thyself ; but by 
complying all is gained — sweet peace. It is 
the very secret, the mystery of solid peace 
within, to resign all to His will, to be disposed 
of at His pleasure, without the least contrary 
thought. R. Leighton. 



April 8 



99 



The Lord is my shepherd ; 1 shall not want. — 
Ps. xxiii. i. 

They that seek the Lord shall not want any good 
thing. — Ps. xxxiv. 10. 

God, who the universe doth hold 

In his fold, 
Is my shepherd kind and heedful, 
Is my shepherd, and doth keep 

Me, his sheep, 
Still supplied with all things needful. 

F. Davison. 



JT^jF^/ZO is it that is your shepherd ? 
The Lord ! Oh, my friends, what 
a wonderful announcement ! The 
Lord God of heaven and earth, the almighty 
Creator of all things, He who holds the uni- 
verse in His hand as though it were a very 
little thing, — He is your shepherd, and has 
charged Himself with the care and keeping of 
you, as a shepherd is charged with the care and 
keeping of his sheep. If your hearts could 
really take in this thought, you would never 
have a fear or a care again ; for with such a 
shepherd, how could it be possible for you ever 
to want any good thing ? 

i « ^ H. W. Smith. 

L. or 0. 



IOO 



April g 



Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. 
— Matt. xxvi. 41. 

I want a sober mind, 

A self-renouncing will, 
That tramples down and casts behind 

The baits of pleasing ill ; 
A spirit still prepared, 

And armed with jealous care, 
Forever standing on its guard, 

And watching unto prayer. C. Wesley. 

WHEN you say, " Lead us not into tempta- 
tion," you must in good earnest mean 
to avoid in your daily conduct those 
temptations which you have already suffered 
from. When you say, " Deliver us from evil," 
you must mean to struggle against that evil in 
your hearts, which you are conscious of, and 
which you prav to be forgiven. To watch and 
pray are surely in our power, and by these 
means we are certain of getting strength. You 
feel your weakness ; you fear to be overcome by 
temptation : then keep out of the way of it. 
This is watching. Avoid society which is 
likely to mislead you; flee from the very 
shadow of evil; you cannot be too careful; 
better be a little 'too strict than a little too 
easy, — it is the safer side. Abstain from read- 
ing books which are dangerous to you. Turn 
from bad thoughts when they arise. 

J. H. Newman. 



April 10 



IOI 



Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers ; but in 
singleness of heart, fearing God, Whatsoever ye 
do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. 
— Col. iii. 22, 23. 

Teach me, my God and King, 

In all things Thee to see, 
And what I do in anything, 

To do it as for Thee. 

G. Herbert, 

THERE is no action so slight nor so mean 
but it may be done to a great purpose, 
and ennobled thereby ; nor is any pur- 
pose so great but that slight actions may help it, 
and may be so done as to help it much, most 
especially, that chief of all purposes — the pleas- 
ing of God. 

J. Ruskin. 

Every duty, even the least duty, involves the 
whole principle of obedience. And little duties 
make the will dutiful, that is, supple and prompt 
to obey. Little obediences lead into great. 
The daily round of duty is full of probation and 
of discipline ; it trains the will, heart, and con- 
science. We need not to be prophets or 
apostles. The commonest life may be full of 
perfection. The duties of home are a discipline 
for the ministries of heaven. 

H. E. Manning. 



102 



April ii 



Wherefore, beloved . . . be diligent that ye may 
be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blame- 
l esSa — 2 Peter iii. 14. 



His conscience knows no secret stings, 

While grace and joy combine 
To form a life whose holy springs 

Are hidden and divine. 

I. Watts. 



EVEN the smallest discontent of conscience 
may render turbid the whole temper of 
the mind; but only produce the effort 
that restores its peace, and over the whole atmo- 
sphere a breath of unexpected purity is spread; 
doubt and irritability pass as clouds away; the 
withered sympathies of earth and home open 
their leaves and live; and through the clearest 
blue the deep is seen of the heaven where God 
resides. 

J. Martineau. 

The state of mind which is described as 
meekness, or quietness of spirit, is characterized 
in a high degree by inward harmony. 1 here is 
not, as formerly, that inward jarring of thought 
contending with thought, and conscience assert- 
ing rights which it could not maintain. 

to fo T. C. Upham. 



April 12 



Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, 
live in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall 
be with you. — 2 Cor. xiii. II. 

He that loveth not his brother whom he hath 
seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? 
— i John iv. 20. 

Lord ! subdue our selfish will ; 

Each to each our tempers suit, 
By Thy modulating skill, 

Heart to heart, as lute to lute. 

C. Wesley. 

IT requires far more of the constraining love 
of Christ to love our cousins and neighbors 
as members of the heavenly family, than to 
feel the heart warm to our suffering brethren in 
Tuscany or Madeira. To love the whole 
Church is one thing; to love — that is, to de- 
light in the graces and veil the defects — of the 
person who misunderstood me and opposed my 
plans yesterday, whose peculiar infirmities grate 
on my most sensitive feelings, or whose natural 
faults are precisely those from which my natural 
character most revolts, is quite another. 

Elizabeth Charles. 



April 13 



In all these things we are more than conquerors 
through Him that loved us. — Rom. viii, 37. 

Thus my soul before her God 

Lieth still, nor speaketh more, 
Conqueror thus o'er pain and wrong, 

That once smote her to the core ; 
Like a silent ocean, bright 
With her God's great praise and light. 

J. J. WlNCKLER. 

MY mind is forever closed against embar- 
rassment and perplexity, against uncer- 
tainty, doubt, and anxiety ; my heart 
against grief and desire. Calm and unmoved, I 
look down on all things, for I know that I can- 
not explain a single event, nor comprehend its 
connection with that which alone concerns me. 
In His world all things prosper; this satisfies 
me, and in this belief I stand fast as a rock. 
My breast is steeled against annoyance on ac- 
count of personal offences and vexations, or 
exultation in personal merit ; for my whole per- 
sonality has disappeared in the contemplation of 
the purpose of my being. 

J. G. Fichte. 



April 14 



105 



All thing are yours ; whether Paul, or Apollos, 
or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death , or things 
present, or things to come ; all are yours ; and ye 
are Christ's ; and Christ is God's. — 1 Cor. iii. 
21, 22, 23. 

As having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 
— 2 Cor. vi. 10. 

Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, 
As more of heaven in each we see : 
Some softening gleam of love and prayer 
Shall dawn on every cross and care. 

J. Keble. 

OUT of love and hatred, out of earnings, 
and borrowings, and lendings, and losses; 
out of sickness and pain "; out of wooing 
and worshipping ; out of travelling, and voting, 
and watching, and caring ; out of disgrace and 
contempt, comes our tuition in the serene and 
beautiful laws. Let him not slur his lesson ; 
let him learn it by heart. Let him endeavor 
exactly, bravely, and cheerfully, to solve the 
problem of that life which is set before him. 
And this, by punctual action, and not by 
promises or dreams. Believing, as in God, in 
the presence and favor of the grandest influences, 
let him deserve that favor, and learn how to 
receive and use it, by fidelity also to the lower 
observances. 

R. W. Emerson. 



io6 



April 15 



We know that all things work together for good 
to them that love God, — Rom. via. 28. 

As for you, ye thought evil against me ; but God 
meant it unto good. — Gen. 1. 20. 

Ill that He blesses is our good, 

And unblest good is ill ; 
And all is right that seems most wrong, 

If it be His sweet Will. F. W. Faber. 

TO those who know themselves, all things 
work together for good, and all things 
seem to be, as they are to them, good. 
The goods which God gives seem " very good," 
and God Himself in them, because they know 
that they deserve them not. The evils which 
God allows and overrules seem also "very 
good," because they see in them His loving 
hand, put forth to heal them of what shuts out 
God from the soul. They love God intensely, 
in that He is so good to them in each, and 
every, the least good, because it is more than 
they deserve : how much more in the greatest ! 
They love God for every, and each, the very 
greatest of what seem evils, knowing them to 
be, from His love, real goods. For He by whom 
" all the hairs of our head are numbered," and 
who " knoweth whereof we are made," directs 
everything which befalls us in life, in perfect 
wisdom and love, to the well-being of our souls. 

E. B. Pusey. 



April 16 



107 



The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and 
I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be 
preserved blameless. Faithful is He that calleth 
you, who also will do it. — 1 Thess. v. 23, 24. 

Be still, my soul ! — the Lord is on thy side 5 
Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain ; 

Leave to thy God to order and provide, — 
In every change He faithful will remain. 

Hymns from the Land of Luther. 

IT was no relief from temporal evils that the 
Apostle promised. No ; the mercy of God 
might send them to the stake, or the lions; 
it was still His mercy, if it but kept them " un- 
spotted from the world." It might expose them 
to insult, calumny, and wrong ; they received it 
still as mercy, if it " established them in every 
good word and work." O brethren ! how many 
of you are content with such faithfulness as this 
on the part of your heavenly Father ? Is this, 
indeed, the tone and tenor of your prayers ? 

Wm. Archer Butler. 

The highest pinnacle of the spiritual life is 
not happy joy in unbroken sunshine, but abso- 
lute and undoubting trust in the love of God. 

A. W. Thorold. 



io8 



April 17 



Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his 
trust, — Ps. xl. 4. 

That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. — 
1 Tim. ii. 2. 

Just to let thy Father do 

What He will ; 
Just to know that He is true, 
And be still ; 
Just to trust Him, this is all ! 

Then the day will surely be 
Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall, 

Bright and blessed, calm and free. 

F. R. Havergal. 

EVERY morning compose your soul for a 
tranquil day, and all through it be careful 
often to recall your resolution, and bring 
yourself back to it, so to say. If something 
discomposes you, do not be upset, or troubled ; 
but having discovered the fact, humble yourself 
gently before God, and try to bring your mind 
into a quiet attitude. Say to yourself, " Well, I 
have made a false step ; now I must go more 
carefully and watchfully." Do this each time, 
however frequently you fall. When you are at 
peace use it profitably, making constant acts of 
meekness, and seeking to be calm even in the 
most trifling things. Above all, do not be dis- 
couraged ; be patient ; wait ; strive to attain a 
calm, gentle spirit. 

St. Francis de Sales. 



April 18 



109 



What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but 
to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, 
and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart and with all thy soul? — Deut. 
x. 12. 

What asks our Father of His children save 
Justice and mercy and humility, 
A reasonable service of good deeds, 
Pure living, tenderness to human needs, 
Reverence, and trust, and prayer for light to see 
The Master's footprints in our daily ways ? 
No knotted scourge, nor sacrificial knife, 
But the calm beauty of an ordered life 
Whose every breathing is unworded praise. 

J. G. Whittier. 

GIVE up yourself to God without reserve ; 
in singleness of heart meeting everything 
that every day brings forth, as something 
that comes from God, and is to be received and 
gone through by you, in such an heavenly use 
of it, as you would suppose the holy Jesus would 
have done in such occurrences. This is an at- 
tainable degree of perfection. Wm. Law. 

We ought to measure our actual lot, and to 
fulfil it ; to be with all our strength that which 
our lot requires and allows. What is beyond it, 
is no calling of ours. How much peace, quiet, 
confidence, and strength, would people attain, if 
they would go by this plain rule. 

H. E. Manning. 



April 19 



The hand of our God is upon all them for good 
that seek Him. — Ezra viii. 22. 

Into Thy hand I commit my spirit. — Ps. 
xxxi. 5. 

Thou Layest Thy hand on the fluttering heart, 

And sayest; << Be still ! " 
The silence and shadow are only a part 

Of Thy sweet will ; 
Thy presence is with me, and where Thou art 

I fear no ill. 

F. R. Havergal. 



BE still and cool in thy own mind and spirit 
from thy own thoughts, and then thou 
wilt feel' the principle of God, to turn thy 
mind to the Lord God, from whom life comes ; 
whereby thou mavest receive His strength, and 
power to allav all blustering storms and tempests. 
That is it which works up into patience, into 
innocencv, into soberness, into stillness, into 
stavedness, into quietness, up to God with His 
power. Therefore be still awhile from thy own 
thoughts, searching, seeking, desires, and imag- 
inations, and be staved in the principle of God 
in thee, that it may raise thy mind up to God 
and stav it upon God ; and thou wilt find 
strength from Him, and find Him to be a God 
at hand, a present help in the time of trouble 
and need. 

George rox. 



April 20 



1 1 1 



/ waited patiently for the Lord; and He in- 
clined unto me, and beard my cry. — Ps. xl. I. 

Tribulation worketb patience ; and patience, ex- 
perience ; and experience, hope, — Rom. v. 3, 4. 

Lord, we have wandered forth through doubt and sorrow, 
And Thou hast made each step an onward one ; 

And we will ever trust each unknown morrow, — 
Thou wilt sustain us till its work is done. 

S. Johnson. 

IT is possible, when the future is dim, when 
our depressed faculties can form no bright 
ideas of the perfection and happiness of a 
better world, — it is possible still to cling to the 
conviction of God's merciful purpose towards 
His creatures, of His parental goodness even in 
suffering; still to feel that the path of duty, 
though trodden with a heavy heart, leads to 
peace ; still to be true to conscience ; still to do 
our work, to resist temptation, to be useful, 
though with diminished energy, to give up our 
wills when we cannot rejoice under God's mys- 
terious providence. In this patient, though un- 
cheered obedience, we become prepared for light. 
The soul gathers force. 

Wm. E. Channing. 



112 



April 21 



Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which 
is in heaven is perfect. — Matt. v. 48. 

As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteous- 
ness ; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy 
likeness. — Ps. xvii. 15. 

The righteousness he marks in Thee 

His will to right doth win 5 
Delighting in Thy purity, 

He deeply drinks it in. 

T. H. Gill. 

TO love God is to love His character, 
For instance, God is Purity. And to be 
pure in thought and look, to turn away 
from unhallowed books and conversation, to ab- 
hor the moments in which we have not been 
pure, is to love God. God is Love; and to 
love men till private attachments have expanded 
into a philanthropy which embraces all, — at 
last even the evil and enemies with compassion, 
— that is to love God. God is Truth. To be 
true, to hate everv form of falsehood, to live a 
brave, true, real life, — that is to love God. 
God is Infinite; and to love the boundless, 
reaching on from grace to grace, adding charity 
to faith, and rising upwards ever to see the Ideal 
still above us, and to die with it unattained, aim- 
ing insatiably to be perfect even as the Father is 
perfect, — that is to love God. 

F. W. Robertson. 



April 22 



Whom having not seen, ye love ; in whom, though 
now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with 
joy unspeakable and full of glory, — I Peter i. 8. 

If our love were but more simple, 
We should take Him at His word ; 

And our lives would be all sunshine 
In the sweetness of our Lord. 

F. W. Faber. 

WHAT would it be to love absolutely a 
Being absolutely lovely, — to be able to 
give our whole existence, every thought, 
every act, every desire, to that adored One, — 
to know that He accepts it all, and loves us in 
return as God alone can love ? This happiness 
grows forever. The larger our natures become, 
the wider our scope of thought, the stronger 
our will, the more fervent our affections, the 
deeper must be the rapture of such God-granted 
prayer. Every sacrifice resolved on opens wide 
the gate ; every sacrifice accomplished is a step 
towards the paradise within. Soon it will be no 
transitory glimpse, no rapture of a day, to be 
followed by clouds and coldness. Let us but 
labor, and pray, and wait, and the intervals of 
human frailty shall grow shorter and less dark, 
the days of our delight in God longer and 
brighter, till at last life shall be nought but His 
love, our eyes shall never grow dim, His smile 
never turn away. F. B. Cobbe. 

8' 



ii 4 



April 23 



These were the potters, and those that dwelt 
among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with 
the king for his work. — 1 Chron. iv. 23. 

A lowlier task on them is laid, 
With love to make the labor light ; 

And there their beauty they must shed 
On quiet homes, and lost to sight.^ 

Changed are their visions high and fair, 

Yet, calm and still, they labor there. 

Hymns of the Ages. 



ANYWHERE and everywhere we may 
dwell " with the King for His work." 
We may be in a very unlikely or unfavor- 
able place for this ; it may be in a literal country 
life, with little enough to be seen of the " go- 
ings " of the King around us ; it may be among 
hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all directions; 
it may be, furthermore, with our hands full of 
all manner of pottery for our daily task. No 
matter ! The King who placed us " there " will 
come and dwell there with us ; the hedges are 
all right, or He would soon do away with them ; 
and it does not follow that what seems to hinder 
our way may not be for its very protection ; 
and as for the pottery, why, that is just exactly 
what He has seen fit to put into our hands, 
and therefore it is, for the present, " His work." 

F. R. Havergal. 



April 24 



"5 



Bear ye one another* 's burdens, and so fulfil the 
law of Christ. — Gal. vi. 2. 

Is thy cruse of comfort wasting ? 

Rise and share it with another, 
And through all the years of famine, 

It shall serve thee and thy brother. 
Is thy burden hard and heavy ? 

Do thy steps drag heavily ? 
Help to bear thy brother's burden 5 

God will bear both it and thee. 

Elizabeth Charles. 

HOWEVER perplexed you may at any hour 
become about some question of truth, one 
refuge and resource is always at hand : 
you can do something for some one besides your- 
self. When your own burden is heaviest, you 
can always lighten a little some other burden. 
At the times when you cannot see God, there 
is still open to you this sacred possibility, to 
show God ; for it is the love and kindness of 
human hearts through which the divine reality 
comes home to men, whether they name it or 
not. Let this thought, then, stay with you : 
there may be times when you cannot find help, 
but there is no time when you cannot give help. 

George S. Merriam. 



April 25 



Surely, I have behaved and quieted myself, as a 
child that is weaned of his mother : my soul is even 
as a weaned child. — Ps. cxxxi. 2. 

Quiet, Lord, my froward heart, 
Make me teachable and mild, 
Upright, simple, free from art, 
Make me as a weaned child ; 
From distrust and envy free, 
Pleased with all that pleaseth Thee. 

J. Newton. 

OH ! look not after great things : small 
breathings, small desires after the Lord, 
if true and pure, are sweet beginnings 
of life. Take heed of despising " the day of 
small things," by looking after some great visita- 
tion, proportionable to thy distress, according to 
thy eye. Nay, thou must become a child ; thou 
must lose thy own will quite by degrees. Thou 
must wait for life to be measured out by the 
Father, and be content with what proportion, 
and at what time, He shall please to measure. 

I. Penington. 

"When Israel was a child, then I loved him" 
(Hosea xi. 1). Aim to be ever this little child, 
contented with what the Father gives of pleasure 
or of play ; and when restrained from pleasure 
or from play, and led for a season into the 
chamber of sorrow, rest quiet on His bosom, 
and be patient, and smile, as one who is nestled 
in a sweet and secure asylum. Anon. 



April 26 



117 



If we hope for that we see not, then do we with 
patience wait for it. — Rom. viii. 25. 

One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, 
and a thousand years as one day. — 2 Peter iii. 8. 

Lord ! who Thy thousand years dost wait 

To work the thousandth part 
Of Thy vast plan, for us create 

With zeal a patient heart. 

J. H. Newman. 

I BELIEVE that if we could only see before- 
hand what it is that our heavenly Father 
means us to be, — the soul beauty and per- 
fection and glory, the glorious and lovely spiritual 
body that this soul is to dwell in through all 
eternity, — if we could have a glimpse of this, 
we should not grudge all the trouble and pains 
He is taking with us now, to bring us up to that 
ideal, which is His thought of us. We know 
that it is God's way to work slowly, so we must 
not be surprised if He takes a great many years 
of discipline to turn a mortal being into an im- 
mortal, glorious angel. 

Annie Keary. 



Tl8 



April 27 



Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor. — 
Zech. viii. 16. 

For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our con- 
science, that in simplicity and godly sincerity . . . 
we have had our conversation in the world. — 2 
Cor. i. 12. 

Appear I always what I am ? 

And am I what I am pretending ? 

Know I what way my course is bending ? 
And sound my word and thought the same ? 

Anon. 

AM I acting in simplicity, from a germ of 
the Divine life within, or am I shaping 
my path to obtain some immediate result 
of expediency ? Am I endeavoring to compass 
effects, amidst a tangled web of foreign influ- 
ences I cannot calculate; or am I seeking simply 
to do what is right, and leaving the consequences 
to the good providence of God ? 

M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK. 

Let it not be in any man's power to say truly 
of thee that thou art not simple, or that thou art 
not good ; but let him be a liar whoever shall 
think anything of this kind about thee; and this 
is altogether in thy power. For who is he that 
shall hinder thee from being good and simple ? 

Marcus Antoninus. 



April 28 



119 



The Lord is thy keeper : the Lord is thy shade 
upon thy right hand, — Ps. cxxi. 5. 

Great peace have they which love Thy law : and 
nothing shall offend them. — Ps. cxix. 165. 

I rest beneath the Almighty's shade, 
My griefs expire, my troubles cease 5 

Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed, 
Wilt keep me still in perfect peace. 

C. Wesley. 

ONE great sign of the practical recognition 
of the " divine moment," and of our find- 
ing God's habitation in it, is constant 
calmness and peace of mind. Events and things 
come with the moment ; but God comes with 
them too. So that if He comes in the sunshine, 
we find rest and joy ; and if He comes in the 
storm, we know He is King of the storms, and 
our hearts are not troubled. God Himself, 
though possessing a heart filled with the tender- 
est feelings, is, nevertheless, an everlasting tran- 
quillity ; and when we enter into His holy 
tabernacle, our souls necessarily enter into the 
tabernacle of rest. T. C. Upham. 

My soul was not only brought into harmony 
with itself and with God, but with God's provi- 
dences. In the exercise of faith and love, I en- 
dured and performed whatever came in God's 
providence, in submission, in thankfulness, and 
silence. Madame Guyon. 



120 



April 29 



I will arise and go to my Father. — Luke xv. i 8. 



0 my God, my Father ! hear, 
And help me to believe 5 

Weak and weary I draw near ; 
Thy child, O God, receive. 

1 so oft have gone astray 5 

To the perfect Guide I flee ; 
Thou wilt turn me not away, 
Thy love is pledged to me. 

Hymns of the Spirit. 



O CHILD, hast thou fallen? arise, and 
go, with childlike trust, to thy Father, 
like the prodigal son, and humbly say, 
with heart and mouth, " Father, I have sinned 
against heaven, and before Thee, and am no 
more worthy to be called Thy son ; make me 
as one of Thy hired servants." And what will 
thy heavenly Father do but what that father did 
in the parable ? Assuredly He will not change 
His essence, which is love, for the sake of thy 
misdoings. Is it not His own precious treasure, 
and a small thing with Him to forgive thee thy 
trespasses, if thou believe in Him ? for His hand 
is not shortened that it cannot make thee fit to 
be saved. 

John Tauler. 



April 30 



121 



Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go 
forward. — Ex. xiv. 15. 

No man, having put his hand to the plough, and 
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. — Luke 
ix. 62. 

Be trustful, be steadfast, whatever betide thee, 
Only one thing do thou ask of the Lord, — 

Grace to go forward wherever He guide thee, 
Simply believing the truth of His word. 

Anon. 

THE soul ceases to weary itself with plan- 
ning and foreseeing, giving itself up to 
God's Holy Spirit within, and to the 
teachings of His providence without. He is 
not forever fretting as to his progress, or look- 
ing back to see how far he is getting on ; rather 
he goes steadily and quietly on, and makes all 
the more progress because it is unconscious. So 
he never gets troubled and discouraged ; if he 
falls he humbles himself, but gets up at once, 
and goes on with renewed earnestness. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 



May i 



I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise 
shall continually be in my mouth. — Ps. xxxiv. I. 

/ will praise Thee, . O Lord, zvith my whole 
heart; I will show forth all Thy marvellous works. 
— Ps. ix. i. 

Thrice blest will all our blessings be, 
When we can look through them to Thee ; 
When each glad heart its tribute pays 
Of love and gratitude and praise. 

Jane Cotterill. 



THAT which befits us, embosomed in beauty 
and wonder as we are, is cheerfulness, and 
courage, and the endeavor to realize our 
aspirations. °Shall not the heart which has re- 
ceived so much, trust the Power by which it 
lives ? May it not quit other leadings, and listen 
to the Soul that has guided it so gently, and 
taught it so much, secure that the future will be 

worthy of the past ? 

J R. W. Emerson. 



I have experienced that the habit of taking 
out of the hand of our Lord every little blessing 
and brightness on our path, confirms us, in an 
especial manner, in communion with His love. 

M. A. Schimmelpenninck. 



May 2 123 



The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which 
is in the sight of God of great price. — 1 Peter 
iii. 4. 

To present you holy, and unblameable, and un- 
reproveable in His sight. — Col. i. 22. 

Thy sinless mind in us reveal, 

Thy spirit's plenitude impart ! 
Till all my spotless life shall tell 

The abundance of a loving heart. 

C. Wesley. 

HOLINESS appeared to me to be of a 
sweet, pleasant, charming, serene, calm 
nature. It seemed to me, it brought an 
inexpressible purity, brightness, peacefulness, and 
ravishment to the soul ; and that it made the 
soul like a field or garden of God, with all 
manner of pleasant flowers, that is all pleasant, 
delightful, and undisturbed ; enjoying a sweet 
calm, and the gently vivifying beams of the sun. 
The soul of a true Christian appeared like such 
a little white flower, as we, see in the spring of 
the year, low and humble on the ground, open- 
ing its bosom to receive the pleasant beams of 
the sun's glory ; rejoicing, as it were, in a calm 
rapture; diffusing around a sweet fragrancy ; 
standing peacefully and lovingly in the midst of 
other flowers round about, all in like manner 
opening their bosoms to drink in the light of the 
sun. Jonathan Edwards. 



May 3 



The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of 
trouble ; and He knoweth them that trust in Him. 
. Nahum i. 7. 

Leave God to order all thy ways, 
And hope in Him, whate'er betide ; 

Thou 'It find Him in the evil days 

Thy all-sufficient strength and guide ; 

Who trusts in God's unchanging love, 

Builds on the rock that nought can move. 

G. Neumark. 



OUR whole trouble in our lot in this world 
rises from the disagreement of our mind 
therewith. Let the mind be brought to 
the lot, and the whole tumult is instantly hushed; 
let it be kept in that disposition, and the man 
shall stand at ease, in his affliction, like a rock 
unmoved with waters beating upon it. 

T. Boston. 



How does our will become sanctified ? By 
conforming itself unreservedly to that of God. 
We will all that He wills, and will nothing that 
He does not will ; we attach our feeble will to 
that all-powerful will which performs everything. 
Thus, nothing can ever come to pass against our 
will; for nothing can happen save that which 
God wills, and we find in His good pleasure an 
inexhaustible source of peace and consolation. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 



May 4 125 



Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought 
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths 
of lions, out of weakness were made strong. — Heb. 
xi - 33. 34. 

She met the hosts of Sorrow with a look 

That altered not beneath the frown they wore, 
And soon the lowering brood were tamed, and took, 

Meekly, her gentle rule, and frowned no more. 
Her soft hand put aside the assaults of wrath, 
And calmly broke in twain 
The fiery shafts of pain, 
And rent the nets of passion from her path. 

By that victorious hand despair was slain ; 
With love she vanquished hate, and overcame 
Evil with good, in her great Master's name. 

W. C. Bryant. 

AS to what may befall us outwardly, in this 
confused state of things, shall we not 
trust our tender Father, and rest satisfied 
in His will? Shall anything hurt us? Can 
tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, naked- 
ness, peril, or sword, come between the love of 
the Father to the child, or the child's rest, con- 
tent, and delight in His love? And doth not 
the love, the rest, the peace, the joy felt, swallow 
up all the bitterness and sorrow of the outward 
condition ? 

I. Penington. 



I26 May 5 



If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have 
Juried thee, then how canst thou contend with 
horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou 
trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do 
in the swelling of Jordan ?— Jer. xu. 5. 

How couldst thou hang upon the cross, 
To whom a weary hour is loss ? 
Or how the thorns and scourging brook, 
Who shrinkest from a scornful look ? 



A 



HEART unloving among kindred has 
no love towards God's saints and angels. 
If we have a cold heart towards a servant 
or a friend, why should we wonder if we have 
no fervor towards God i If we are cold in our 
private prayers, we should be earthly and dull in 
KTmost devout religious order-, if we cann* 
bear the vexations of a company how should 
we bear the contradiction of sinners ? if a little 
pain overcomes us, how could we endure a 
cross t if we have no tender, cheerful, affection- 
a e love to those with whom our daily hours are 
Pe nt, how should we feel the pulse and ardo 
of love to the unknown and the evil, the un 
grateful and repulsive? ^ £ 



May 6 127 



Be kindly ajfectioned one to another with brotherly 
love. — Rom. xii. 10. 

In her tongue is the law of kindness. — Prov. 
xxxi. 26. 

Since trifles make the sum of human things, 
And half our misery from our foibles springs ; 
Since life's best joys consist in peace and ease, 
And though but few can serve, yet all can please 5 
Oh, let the ungentle spirit learn from hence, 
A small unkindness is a great offence. 

Hannah More. 

ALL usefulness and all comfort may be pre- 
vented by an unkind, a sour, crabbed 
temper of mind, — a mind that can bear 
with no difference of opinion or temperament. 
A spirit of fault-finding; an unsatisfied temper; 
a constant irritability ; little inequalities in the 
look, the temper, or the manner ; a brow cloudy 
and dissatisfied — your husband or your wife 
cannot tell why — will more than neutralize all 
the good you can do, and render life anything 
but a blessing. 

Albert Barnes. 

You have not fulfilled every duty, unless you 
have fulfilled that of being pleasant. 

Charles Buxton. 



i28 May 7 



He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up 
their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars ; 
He calleth them all by their names. — Ps. cxlvii. 

3. 4. 



1 



Teach me your mood, O patient stars 
Who climb each night the ancient sky, 

Leaving on space no shade, no sears, 
No trace of age, no fear to die. 

R. W. Emerson. 



I LOOKED up to the heavens once more, 
and the quietness of the stars seemed to re- 
proach me. " We are safe up here," they 
seemed to say ; « we shine, fearless and confi- 
dent, for the God who gave the primrose its 
rough leaves to hide it from the blast of uneven 
spring, hangs us in the awful hollows of space. 
We cannot fall out of His safety. Lift up your 
eyes on high, and behold ! Who hath created 
these things — that bringeth out their host by 
number ? He calleth them all by names. By 
the greatness of His might, for that He is strong 
in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O 
Jacob ! and speakest, O Israel ! my way is hid 
from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over 
from my God ? " 

G. Macdonald. 



May 8 129 



This is the day which the Lord hath made; we 
will rejoice and be glad in it. — Ps. cxviii. 24. 

Why stand ye here all the day idle ? — Matt. 
xx. 6. 

So here hath been dawning another blue day $ 

Think, wilt thou let it slip useless away ? 

Out of eternity this new day is born 5 

Into eternity at night will return. T. Carlyle. 

SMALL cares, some deficiencies in the mere 
arrangement and ordering of our lives, 
daily fret our hearts, and cross the clear- 
ness of our faculties; and these entanglements 
hang around us, and leave us no free soul able 
to give itself up, in power and gladness, to the 
true work of life. The severest training and 
self-denial, — a superiority to the servitude of 
indulgence, — are the indispensable conditions 
even of genial spirits, of unclouded energies, of 
tempers free from morbidness, — much more of 
the practised and vigorous mind, ready at every 
call, and thoroughly furnished unto all good 
works. J. H. Thom. 

True, we can never be at peace till we have 
performed the highest duty of all, — till we have 
arisen, and gone to our Father; but the per- 
formance of smaller duties, yes, even of the 
smallest, will do more to give us temporary 
repose, will act more as healthful anodynes, 
than the greatest joys that can come to us from 
any other quarter. G. Macdonald. 

9 



i 3 o 



May g 



The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; 
blessed be the name of the Lord. — Job i. 21. 

What Thou hast given, Thou canst take, 
And when Thou wilt new gifts can make. 

All flows from Thee alone ; 
When Thou didst give it, it was Thine ; 
When Thou retook'st it, 'twas not mine. 

Thy will in all be done. 

John Austin. 

WE are ready to praise when all shines 
fair; but when life is overcast, when 
all things seem to be against us, when 
we are in fear for some cherished happiness, or 
in the depths of sorrow, or in the solitude of a 
life which has no visible support, or in a season 
of sickness, and with the shadow of death ap- 
proaching, — then to praise God; then to say, 
This fear, loneliness, affliction, pain, and trem- 
bling awe are as sure tokens of love, as life, 
health, joy, and the gifts of home : " The Lord 
gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; 93 on either 
side it is He, and all is love alike; "blessed be 
the name of the Lord," — this is the true sacri- 
fice of praise. What can come amiss to a soul 
which is so in accord with God ? What can 
make so much as one jarring tone in all its 
harmony ? In all the changes of this fitful life, 
it ever dwells in praise. 

H. E. Manning. 



May 10 131 



The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants ; 
and none of them that trust in Him shall be deso- 
late, — Ps. xxxiv. 22. 

Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him, — 
Job xiii. 15. 

I praise Thee while my days go on ; 

I love Thee while my days go on : 

Through dark and dearth, through fire and frost, 

With emptied arms and treasure lost, 

I thank Thee while my days go on. 

E. B. Browning. 

THE sickness of the last week was fine 
medicine ; pain disintegrated the spirit, 
or became spiritual. I rose, — I felt 
that I had given to God more perhaps than an 
angel could, — had promised Him in youth that 
to be a blot on this fair world, at His command, 
would be acceptable. Constantly offer myself 
to continue the obscurest and loneliest thing 
ever heard of, with one proviso, — His agency. 
Yes, love Thee, and all Thou dost, while Thou 
sheddest frost and darkness on every path of 
mine. 

Mary Moody Emerson. 



i 3 2 May ii 

Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and 
shall we not receive evil? — Job ii. 10. 

Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, 
according to Thy word. — Ps. cxix. 65. 



Whatsoe'er our lot may be, 

Calmly in this thought we '11 rest, — 
*Could we see as Thou dost see, 
We should choose it as the best. 

Wm. Gaskell. 



IT is a proverbial saying, that every one 
makes his own destiny; and this is usually 
interpreted, that every one, by his wise or 
unwise conduct, prepares good or evil for him- 
self: but we mav also understand it, that what- 
ever it be that 'he receives from the hand of 
Providence, he may so accommodate himself to 
it, that he will find his lot good for him, how- 
ever much may seem to others to be wanting. 

Wm. von Humboldt. 

Evil, once manfully fronted, ceases to be 
evil ; there is generous battle-hope in place of 
dead, passive misery ; the evil itself has become 
a kind of good. 

T. Carlyle. 



May 12 133 



Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer : 
. . . ye shall have tribulation ten days : be thou 
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown 
of life. — Rev. ii. 10. 

Then, O my soul, be ne'er afraid, 
On Him who thee and all things made 

Do thou all calmly rest 5 
Whate'er may come, where'er we go, 
Our Father in the heavens must know 

In all things what is best. 

Paul Flemming. 

GUIDE me, O Lord, in all the changes and 
varieties of the world ; that in all things 
that shall happen, I may have an even- 
ness and tranquillity of spirit ; that my soul may 
be wholly resigned to Thy divinest will and 
pleasure, never murmuring at Thy gentle chas- 
tisements and fatherly correction. Amen. 

Jeremy Taylor. 

Thou art never at any time nearer to God 
than when under tribulation; which He permits 
for the purification and beautifying of thy soul. 

M. De Molinos. 

Prize inward exercises, griefs, and troubles ; 
and let faith and patience have their perfect work 
in them. 

I. Penington. 



134 



May 13 



/ pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of 
the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from 
the evil — JoHNXvii. 15. 



In busy mart and crowded street, 
No less than in the still retreat, 
Thou, Lord, art near, our souls to bless, 
With all a Father's tenderness. 

I. Williams. 



ONLY the individual conscience, and He 
who is greater than the conscience, can 
tell where worldliness prevails. Each 
heart must answer for itself, and at its own risk. 
That our souls are committed to our own keep- 
ing, at our own peril, in a world so mixed as 
this, is the last reason we should slumber over 
the charge, or betray the trust, If only that 
outlet to the Infinite is kept open, the innes 
bond with eternal life preserved, while not one 
movement of this world's business is interfered 
with, nor one pulse-beat of its happiness re- 
pressed, with all natural associations dear and 
cherished, with all human sympathies fresh and 
warm, we shall yet be near to the kingdom of 
heaven, within the order of the Kosmos of God 
_ in the world, but not of the world — not 
taken out of it, but kept from its evil. 

J. H. Thom. 



May 14 135 



And what % doth the Lord require of thee, but to 
do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly 
with thy God? — Micah vi. 8. 

Put on therefore . . . kindness^ humbleness of 
mind, meekness, long-suffering, — Col. iii. 12. 

Plant in us an humble mind, 
Patient, pitiful, and kind 5 
Meek and lowly let us be, 
Full of goodness, full of Thee. 

C. Wesley. 

THERE is no true and constant gentleness 
without humility; while we are so fond 
of ourselves, we are easily offended with 
others. Let us be persuaded that nothing is due 
to us, and then nothing will disturb us. Let us 
often think of our own infirmities, and we shall 
become indulgent towards those of others. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

Endeavor to be patient in bearing with the 
defects and infirmities of others, of what sort 
soever they be ; for that thyself also hast many 
failings which must be borne with by others. 
If thou canst not make thyself such an one as 
thou wouldest, how canst thou expect to have 
another in all things to thy liking ? 

Thomas a Kempis. 



I3 6 May 15 



My presence shall go with thee, an^d I will give 
thee rest. — Ex. xxxiii. 14. 

Thou wilt show me the path of life : in Thy 
presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there 
are pleasures for evermore. — Ps. xvi. 11. 



Thy presence fills my mind with peace. 
Brightens the thoughts so dark erewhile, 

Bids cares and sad forebodings cease, 
Makes all things smile. 

Charlotte Elliott. 



HOW shall we rest in God ? By giving 
ourselves wholly to Him. If you give 
yourself by halves, you cannot find full 
rest; there will ever be a lurking disquiet in 
that half which is withheld. Martyrs, confes- 
sors, and saints have tasted this rest, and 
"counted themselves happy in that they en- 
dured." A countless host of God's faithful 
servants have drunk deeply of it under the 
daily burden of a weary life, — dull, common- 
place, painful, or desolate. All that God has 
been to them He is ready to be to you. The 
heart once fairly given to God, with a clear 
conscience, a fitting rule of life, and a steadfast 
purpose of obedience, you will find a wonderful 
sense of rest coming over you. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 



May 16 137 



Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and 
in the power of His might. — Eph. vi. 10. 

No man can serve two masters. — Matt. vi. 24. 

Oh, there are heavenly heights to reach 

In many a fearful place, 
Where the poor timid heir of God 

Lies blindly on his face 5 
Lies languishing for grace divine 

That he shall never see 
Till he go forward at Thy sign, 

And trust himself to Thee. 

A. L. Waring. 

RESERVATIONS lie latent in the mind 
concerning some unhallowed sentiments 
or habits in the present, some possibly 
impending temptations in the future ; and thus 
do we cheat ourselves of inward and outward 
joys together. We give up many an indulgence 
for conscience' sake, but stop short at that point 
of entire faithfulness wherein conscience could 
reward us. If we would but give ourselves 
wholly to God, — give up, for the present and 
the future, every act, and, above all, every 
thought and every feeling, to be all purified to 
the uttermost, and rendered the best, noblest, 
holiest we can conceive, — then would sacrifice 
bear with it a peace rendering itself, I truly be- 
lieve, far easier than before. 

F. P. Cobbe. 



i 3 8 



May 17 



Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify 
one another, even as also ye do. — I Thess. v. II. 

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself — Matt. 
xix. 19. 

So others shall 
Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand, 
From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer, 
And God's grace fructify through thee to all. 
The least flower with a brimming cup may stand, 
And share its dewdrop with another near. 

E. B. Browning. 

WHAT is meant bv our neighbor we can- 
not doubt , it is every one with whom 
we are brought into contact. First of 
all, he is literallv our neighbor who is next to us 
in our own family and household; husband to 
wife, wife to husband, parent to child, brother 
to sister, master to servant, servant to master. 
Then it is he who is close to us in our own 
neighborhood, in our own town, in our own 
parish, in our own street. With these all true 
charity begins. To love and be kind to these 
is the very beginning of all true religion. But, 
besides these, as our Lord teaches, it is every 
one who is thrown across our path by the 
changes and chances of life ; he or she, whoso- 
ever it be, whom we have any means ot helping, 
— the unfortunate stranger whom we may meet 
in travelling, the deserted friend whom no one 
else cares to look after. A. P. Stanley. 



May 18 139 



We know that we have passed from death unto 
life^ because we love the brethren. — i John iii. 14. 

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God 
is love. — 1 John iv. 8. 

Mutual love the token be, 
Lord, that we belong to Thee 5 
Love, Thine image, love impart 5 
Stamp it on our face and heart 5 
Only love to us be given 5 
Lord, we ask no other heaven. 

C. Wesley. 

OH, how many times we can most of us 
remember when we would gladly have 
made any compromise with our con- 
sciences, would gladly have made the most 
costly sacrifices to God, if He would only have 
excused us from this duty of loving, of which 
our nature seemed utterly incapable. It is far 
easier to feel kindly, to act kindly, toward those 
with whom we are seldom brought into contact, 
whose tempers and prejudices do not rub against 
ours, whose interests do not clash with ours, than 
to keep up an habitual, steady, self-sacrificing 
love towards those whose weaknesses and faults 
are always forcing themselves upon us, and are 
stirring up our own. A man may pass good 
muster as a philanthropist who makes but a 
poor master to his servants, or father to his 
children. F. D. Maurice. 



May 19 



Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. 
— Ps. xxxvii. 7. 

Trust in Him at all times. — Ps. lxii. 8. 

Dost thou ask when comes His hour ? 

Then, when it shall aid thee best. 
Trust His faithfulness and power, 

Trust in Him, and quiet rest. Anon*. 

I HAD found [communion with God] to 
consist, not only in the silencing of the out- 
ward man, but in the silencing also of every 
thought, and in the concentration of the soul 
and all its powers into a simple, quiet watching 
and waiting for the food which its heavenly 
Father might see fit either to give or to with- 
hold. In no case could it be sent empty away ; 
for, if comfort, light, or joy were withheld, the 
act of humble waiting at the gate of heavenly 
wisdom could not but work patience in it, and 
thus render it, bv humility and obedience, more 
" meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the 
saints in light," and also more blessed in itself. 

M. A. Kelty. 

" Rest in the Lord ; wait patiently for 
Him." In Hebrew, " be silent to God, and let 
Him mould thee." Keep still, and He will 
mould thee to the right shape. 

Martin Luther. 



May 20 141 



7!? be spiritually minded is life and peace, — 
Rom. viii. 6. 

Stilled now be every anxious care 5 
See God's great goodness every whece 5 
Leave all to Him in perfect rest : 
He will do all things for the best. 

From the German. 

WE should all endeavor and labor for a 
calmer spirit, that we may the better 
serve God in praying to Him and 
praising Him; and serve one another in love, 
that we may be fitted to do and receive good ; 
that we may make our passage to heaven more 
easy and cheerful, without drooping and hang- 
ing the wing. So much as we are quiet and 
cheerful upon good ground, so much we live, 
and are, as it were, in heaven. 

R. Sibbes. 

Possess yourself as much as you possibly can 
in peace \ not by any effort, but by letting all 
things fall to the ground which trouble or excite 
you. This is no work, but is, as it were, a 
setting down a fluid to settle that has become 
turbid through agitation. 

Madame Guyon. 



I 4 2 



May 21 



The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by 
Him ; and the Lord shall cover him all the day 
long. — Deut. xxxiii. 12. 

Whatever events betide, 

Thy will they all perform ; 
Safe in Thy breast my head I hide, 

Nor fear the coming storm. 

H. F. Lyte. 

I HAVE seemed to see a need of everything 
God gives me, and want nothing that He 
denies me. There is no dispensation, 
though afflictive, but either in it, or after it, I 
find that I could not be without it. Whether 
it be taken from or not given me, sooner or 
later God quiets me in Himself without it. I 
cast all my concerns on the Lord, and live 
securely on the care and wisdom of my heavenly 
Father." My ways, you know, are, in a sense, 
hedged up with thorns, and grow darker and 
darker daily; but yet I distrust not my good 
God in the least, and live more quietly in the 
absence of all by faith, than I should do, I am 
persuaded, if I possessed them. 

Joseph Eliot, 1664. 



May 22 



H3 



He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most 
High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
— - Ps. xci. 1. 

They who on the Lord rely, 
Safely dwell though danger's nigh ; 
Lo ! His sheltering wings are spread 
O'er each faithful servant's head. 
When they wake, or when they sleep, 
Angel guards their vigils keep 5 
Death and danger may be near, 
Faith and love have nought to fear. 

Harriet Auber. 

" 'TT^HERE shall no evil befall thee, neither 
shall any plague come nigh thy dwell- 
ing," is a promise to the fullest extent 
verified in the case of all " who dwell in the 
secret place of the Most High." To them 
sorrows are not u evils," sicknesses are not 
"plagues;" the shadow of the Almighty ex- 
tending far around those who abide under it, 
alters the character of all things which come 
within its influence. 

Anon. 

It is faith's work to claim and challenge lov- 
ing-kindness out of all the roughest strokes of 
God. 

S. Rutherford. 



i 4 4 



May 23 



Be content with such things as ye have. — Heb. 
xiii. 5. 

/ have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein 
to be content. — Phil. iv. 11 ( R. V.). 

No longer forward nor behind 

I look in hope or fear 5 
But, grateful, take the good I find, 

The best of now and here. 

J. G. Whittier. 

IF we wished to gain contentment, we might 
try such rules as these : — 
1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, 
not even of the weather. 

2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any 
circumstances in which thou art not. 

3. Never compare thine own lot with that of 
another. 

4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish 
that this or that had been, or were, otherwise 
than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee 
better and more wisely than thou dost thyself. 

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember 
that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part 
of sorrow often is to look forward to it. " The 
Lord will provide." 

E. B. Pusey. 



May 24 



H5 



Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be 
joyous, but grievous : nevertheless afterward it 
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto 
them which are exercised thereby. — Heb. xii. 11. 

I CANNOT say, 
Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day, 

I joy in these 5 

But I can say 
That I had rather walk this rugged way, 

If Him it please. 

S. G. Browning. 

THE particular annoyance which befell you 
this morning ; the vexatious words which 
met your ear and " grieved " your spirit ; 
the disappointment which was His appointment 
for to-day ; the slight but hindering ailment ; 
the presence of some one who is " a grief of 
mind" to you, — whatever this day seemeth not 
joyous, but grievous, is linked in "the good 
pleasure of His goodness " with a corresponding 
afterward of "peaceable fruit," the very seed 
from which, if you only do not choke it, this 
shall spring and ripen. 

F. R. Havergal. 



10 



I4 6 May 25 



O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass 
from me : nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou 
wilt. — Matt. xxvi. 39. 

0 Lord my God, do Thou Thy holy will, — 

I will lie still. 

1 will not stir, lest I forsake Thine arm, 

And break the charm 
Which lulls me, clinging to my Fathers breast, 

In perfect rest. J- Keble. 

RESIGNATION to the will of God is the 
whole of piety ; it includes in it all that is 
good ; and is a source of the most settled 
quiet and composure of mind. Our resignation 
to the will of God may be said to be perfect, 
when our will is lost and resolved up into His ; 
when we rest in His will as our end, as being 
itself most just, and right, and good. And 
where is the impossibility of such an affection to 
what is just and right and good, such a loyalty 
of heart to the Governor of the universe, as shall 
prevail over all sinister indirect desires of our 
own? J 0SEPH BuTLER - 

There are no disappointments to those whose 
wills are buried in the will of God. 

F. W. Faber. 

Lord, Thy will be done in father, mother, 
child, in everything and everywhere; without a 
reserve, without a but, an if, or a limit. 

St. Francis de Sales. 



I 



May 26 



The Lord heareth your murmurings, which ye 
murmur against Him. — Ex. xvi. 8. 

Without murmur, uncomplaining 

In His hand, 
Leave whatever things thou canst not 

Understand. 

K. R. Hagenbach. 

ONE great characteristic of holiness is never 
to be exacting — never to complain. 
Each complaint drags us down a degree, 
in our upward course. If you would discern in 
whom God's spirit dwells, watch that person, 
and notice whether you ever hear him murmur. 

Gold Dust. 

When we wish things to be otherwise than 
they are, we lose sight of the great practical 
parts of the life of godliness. We wish, and 
wish — when, if we have done all that lies on 
us, we should fall quietly into the hands of God. 
Such wishing cuts the very sinews of our privi- 
leges and consolations. You are leaving me 
for a time ; and you say that you wish you could 
leave me better, or leave me with some assist- 
ance : but, if it is right for you to go, it is right 
for me to meet what lies on me, without a wish 
that I had less to meet, or were better able to 
meet it. 

R. Cecil. 



i 4 8 May 27 



He that is faithful in that which is least is 
faithful also in much. — Luke xvi. 10. 

The Lord preserved the faithful. — Ps. xxxi. 23 

The trivial round, the common task, 
Would furnish all we ought to ask 5 
Room to deny ourselves ; a road 
To bring us, daily, nearer God. 

J. Keble. 

EXACTNESS in little duties is a wonderful 
source of cheerfulness. 
F. W. Faber. 



The unremitting retention of simple and 
his;h sentiments in obscure duties is hardening 
the character to that temper which will work 
with honor, if need be, in the tumult or on the 
scaffold. Emerson. 

We are too fond of our own will. We want 
to be doing what we fancy mighty things; but 
the great point is, to do small things, when 
called to them, in a right spirit. R. Cecil. 

It is not on great occasions only that we are 
required to be faithful to the will of God ; occa- 
sions constantly occur, and we should be sur- 
prised to perceive how much our spiritual 
advancement depends on small obediences. 

Madame Swetchine. 



May 28 



149 



Strengthened with all mighty according to His 
glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering 
with joy fulness. — Col. 1. 11. 

God doth not need 
Either man's works or His own gifts 5 who best 
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best ; His state 
Is kingly 5 thousands at His bidding speed, 
And post o'er land and ocean without rest 5 
They also serve who only stand and wait. 

J. Milton. 

WE cannot always be doing a great work, 
but we can always be doing something 
that belongs to our condition. To be 
silent, to suffer, to pray when we cannot act, is 
acceptable to God. A disappointment, a con- 
tradiction, a harsh word, an annoyance, a wrong 
received and endured as in His presence, is 
worth more than a long prayer; and we do not 
lose time if we bear its loss with gentleness and 
patience, provided the loss was inevitable, and 
was not caused by our own fault. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 



I5 o May 29 

Be not slothful, but followers of them who 
through faith and patience inherit the promises. 
— Heb. vi. 12. 

Where now with pain thou treadest, trod 
The whitest of the saints of God ! 
To show thee where their feet were set, 
The light which led them shineth yet. 

J. G. Whittier. 



L 



ET us learn from this communion of 
, saints to live in hope. Those who are 
now at rest were once like ourselves. 
They were once weak, faulty, sinful ; they had 
their burdens and hindrances, their slumbering 
and weariness, their failures and their falls. 
But now they have overcome. Their life was 
once homely and common-place. Their day ran 
out as ours. Morning and noon and _ night 
came and went to them as to us. Their life, 
too, was as lonely and sad as yours. Little 
fretful circumstances and frequent disturbing 
changes wasted awav their hours as yours. 
There is nothing in your life that was not in 
theirs ; there was nothing in theirs but may be 
also in your own. They have overcome, each 
one, and one by one ; each in his turn, when 
the day came, and God called him to the trial. 
And so shall you likewise. 

H. E. Manning. 



May 30 151 



And thus this man died, leaving his death for an 
example of a noble courage, and a memorial of 
virtue, not only unto young men, but unto all his 
nation, — 2 Mac. vi. 31. 

Zebulon and Naphtali were a people that jeop- 
arded their lives unto the death in the high places 
of the field. — Judges v. 18. 

Though Love repine, and Reason chafe, 
There came a voice without reply, — 

'T is man's perdition to be safe, 

When for the truth he ought to die. 

R. W. Emerson. 

SOME say that the age of chivalry is past. 
The age of chivalry is never past, so long 
as there is a wrong left unredressed on 
earth, or a man or woman left to say, " I will 
redress that wrong, or spend my life in the at- 
tempt." The age of chivalry is never past, so 
long as we have faith enough to say, " God will 
help me to redress that wrong ; or, if not me, 
He will help those that come after me, for His 
eternal Will is to overcome evil with good." 

C. Kingsley. 

Thus man is made equal to every event. 
He can face danger for the right. A poor, 
tender, painful body, he can run into flame or 
bullets or pestilence, with duty for his guide. 

R. W. Emerson. 



1^2 May 31 



Let all those that put their trust in Thee re- 
joice : . . . let them also that love Thy name be 
joyful in Thee. — Ps. v. I I. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. — 
Ps. xxiii. 2. 

I can hear these violets chorus 

To the sky's benediction above ; 
And we all are together lying 

On the bosom of Infinite Love. 
Oh, the peace at the heart of Nature ! 

Oh, the light that is not of day ! 
Why seek it afar forever, 

When it cannot be lifted away ? 

W. C. Gannett. 

WHAT inexpressible joy for me, to look 
up through the apple-blossoms and the 
fluttering leaves, and to see God's love 
there ; to listen to the thrush that has built his 
nest among them, and to feel God's love, who 
cares for the birds, in every note that swells his 
little throat ; to look beyond to the bright blue 
depths of the sky, and feel they are a canopy of 
blessing, — the roof of the house of my Father; 
that if clouds pass over it, it is the unchange- 
able light they veil ; that, even when the day 
itself passes, I shall see that the night itself only 
unveils new worlds of light; and to know that if 
I could unwrap fold after fold of God's universe, 
I should only unfold more and more blessing, 
and see deeper and deeper into the love which 
is at the heart of all. Elizabeth Charles. 



June i 



l 53 



One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will 1 
seek after ; that I may dwell in the house of the 
Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty 
of the Lord, arid to enquire in His temple. — Ps. 
xxvii. 4. 



Thy beauty, O my Father ! All is Thine 5 
But there is beauty in Thyself, from whence 

The beauty Thou hast made doth ever flow 
In streams of never-failing affluence. 

Thou art the Temple ! and though I am lame, — 
Lame from my birth, and shall be till I die, — 

I enter through the Gate called Beautiful, 

And am alone with Thee, O Thou Most High ! 

J. W. Chadwick. 

CONSIDER that all which appears beauti- 
ful outwardly, is solely derived from the 
invisible Spirit which is the source of 
that external beauty, and say joyfully, " Behold, 
these are streamlets from the uncreated Foun- 
tain ; behold, these are drops from the infinite 
Ocean of all good ! Oh ! how does my inmost 
heart rejoice at the thought of that eternal, in- 
finite Beauty, which is the source and origin of 
all created beauty ! " 

L. Scupoli. 



154 



June 2 



We all, with open face beholding as in a glass 
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same 
image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of 
the Lord. — 2 Cor. iii. 18. 

Then every tempting form of sin, 
Shamed in Thy presence, disappears, 

And all the glowing, raptured soul 
The likeness it contemplates wears. 

P. Doddridge.. 



THEN does a good man become the taber- 
nacle of God, wherein the divine She- 
chinah does rest, and which the divine 
glory fills, when the frame of his mind and 
life is wholly according to that idea and pattern 
which he receives from the mount. We best 
glorify Him when we grow most like to Him : 
and we then act most for His glory, when a 
true spirit of sanctity, justice, and meekness, 
runs through all our actions; when we so live 
in the world as becomes those that converse 
with the great Mind and Wisdom of the whole 
world, with that Almighty Spirit that made, 
supports, and governs all things, with that Be- 
ing from whence all good flows, and in which 
there is no spot, stain, or shadow of evil ; and 
so being captivated and overcome by the sense 
of the Divine loveliness and goodness, endeavor 
to be like Him, and conform ourselves, as much 
as may be, to Him. Dr. John Smith. 



June 3 



155 



The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and 
shall trust in Him. — Ps. lxiv. 10. 

Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. — - 
Prov. xvi. 20. 

The heart that trusts forever sings, 
And feels as light as it had wings, 
A well of peace within it springs, — 

Come good or ill, 
Whate'er to-day, to-morrow brings, 

It is His will. 

I. Williams. 

HE will weave no longer a spotted life of 
shreds and patches, but he will live with 
a divine unity. He will cease from what 
is base and frivolous in his life, and be content 
with all places, and with any service he can 
render. He will calmly front the morrow, in 
the negligency of that trust which carries God 
with it, and so hath already the whole future in 
the bottom of the heart. R. W. Emerson. 

He who believes in God is not careful for the 
morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great 
heart. "For He giveth His beloved, as in 
sleep." They must work and watch, yet never 
be careful or anxious, but commit all to Him, 
and live in serene tranquillity ; with a quiet heart, 
as one who sleeps safely and quietly. 

Martin Luther. 



156 June 4 

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast 
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the 
Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not 
in vain in the Lord. - I Cor. xv. 58. 

Say not, "T was all in vain, 

The anguish and the darkness and the strite ; 
Love thrown upon the waters comes again 

In quenchless yearnings for a nobler lite. 

Anna Shipton. 

DID vou ever hear of a man who had 
striven all his life faithfully and singly 
toward an object and in no measure ob- 
tained it ? If a man constantly aspires, is he 
not elevated ? Did ever a man «y heroism 
magnanimity, truth, sincerity, and find tha :. 
there was no. advantage in them, — that it was 
a vain endeavor? r p 

D o right, and God's recompense to you will 
be the power of doing more right. Give, and 
God's reward to you will be the spirit of giving 
more : a blessed spirit, for it is the Spirit of God 
himself, whose Life is the blessedness of giving. 
Love, and God will pay you with the capac.ty 
of more love ; for love is Heaven - love is God 

within y° U - F. W. Robertson. 



June 5 



J 57 



Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth. i 

Sam. iii. 9. 

Though heralded with nought of fear, 

Or outward sign or show : 
Though only to the inward ear 

It whispers soft and low 5 
Though dropping, as the manna fell, 

Unseen, yet from above, 
Noiseless as dew-fall, heed it well, — 

Thy Father's call of love. 

J. G. Whittier. 

THIS is one result of the attitude into 
which we are put by humility, by dis- 
interestedness, by purity, by calmness, 
that we have the opportunity, the disengage- 
ment, the silence, in which we may watch what 
is the will of God concerning us. If we think 
no more of ourselves than we ought to think, if 
we seek not our own but others' welfare, if we 
are prepared to take all things as God's dealings 
with us, then we may have a chance of catching 
from time to time what God has to tell us. In 
the Mussulman devotions, one constant gesture 
is to put the hands to the ears, as if to listen for 
the messages from the other world. This is the 
attitude, the posture which our minds assume, 
if we have a standing-place above and beyond 
the stir and confusion and dissipation of this 
mortal world. 

A. P. Stanley. 



I5 8 June 6 

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the 
temple of my God. — Rev. iii. 12. 

In whom ye also are builded together for an habi- 
tation of God through the Spirit. — Eph. ii. 22. 

None the place ordained refuseth, 

They are one, and they are all, 
Living stones, the Builder chooseth 

For the courses of His wall. 

Jean Ingelow. 

SLOWLY, through all the universe, that 
temple of God is being built. Wherever, 
■ in any world, a soul, by free-willed obedi- 
ence, catches the fire of God's likeness, it is set 
into the growing walls, a living stone. When, 
in your hard fight, in your tiresome drudgery, or 
in your terrible temptation, you catch the pur- 
pose of your being, and give yourself to God, 
and so give Him the chance to give Himsell to 
you, your life, a living stone, is taken up and set 
into that growing wall. Wherever souls are 
being tried and ripened, in whatever common- 
place and homely ways ; — there God is hewing 
out the pillars for His temple. Oh, if the stone 
can only have some vision of the temple ot 
which it is to be a part forever, what patience 
must fill it as it feels the blows of the hammer, 
and knows that success for it is simply to let 
itself be wrought into what shape the Master 
wills. P HILL1PS Brooks - 



June 7 



l S9 



Ye are all the children of light, and the children 
of the day. — I Thess. v. 5. 

Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for 
the upright in heart. — Ps. xcvii. 1 1. 

Serene will be our days and bright, 
And happy will our nature be, 

When love is an unerring light, 
And joy its own security. 

W. Wordsworth. 

NOTHING can produce so great a seren- 
ity of life, as a mind free from guilt, and 
kept untainted, not only from actions, 
but purposes that are wicked. By this means 
the soul will be not only unpolluted, but not 
disturbed ; the fountain will run clear and un- 
sullied, and the streams that flow from it will be 
just and honest deeds, ecstasies of satisfaction, 
a brisk energy of spirit, which makes a man an 
enthusiast in his joy, and a tenacious memory, 
sweeter than hope. For as shrubs which are 
cut down with the morning dew upon them do 
for a long time after retain their fragrancy, so 
the good actions of a wise man perfume his 
mind, and leave a rich scent behind them. So 
that joy is, as it were, watered with these 
essences, and owes its flourishing to them. 

Plutarch. 



160 June 8 

Who hath despised the day of small things ? 
Zuch. iv. io. 

Little things 
On little wings 
Bear little souls to heaven. Anon. 

AN occasional effort even of an ordinary 
holiness may accomplish great acts of sac- 
rifice, or bear severe pressure of unwonted 
trial, specially if it be the subject of observation. 
But constant discipline in unnoticed ways, and 
the spirit's silent unselfishness, becoming the 
hidden habit of the life, give to it its true saint y 
beauty, and this is the result of care and lowly 
love in little things. Perfection is attained most 
readily by this constancy of religious faithfulness 
in all minor details of life, consecrating the daily 
efforts of self-forgetting love. T. T. Carter. 

Love's secret is to be always doing things for 
God, and not to mind because they are such 
very little ones. F. W. Faber. 

There may be living and habitual conversa- 
tion in heaven, under the aspect of the most 
simple, ordinary life. Let us always remember 
that holiness does not consist in doing uncommon 
things, but in doing everything with purity ot 
h ° H. E. Manning. 



June 9 



161 



He that is slow to anger is better than the 
mighty ; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that 
taketh a city. — Prov. xvi. 32. 

Purge from our hearts the stains so deep and foul, 

Of wrath and pride and care ; 
Send Thine own holy calm upon the soul, 

And bid it settle there ! 

Anon. 

LET this truth be present to thee in the ex- 
citement of anger, — that to be moved by 
passion is not manly, but that mildness 
and gentleness, as they are more agreeable to 
human nature, so also are they more manly. 
For in the same degree in which a man's mind 
is nearer to freedom from all passion, in the 
same degree also is it nearer to strength. 

Marcus Antoninus. 

It is no great matter to associate with the 
good and gentle, for this is naturally pleasing to 
all, and every one willingly enjoyeth peace, and 
loveth those best that agree with him. But to 
be able to live peaceably with hard and perverse 
persons, or with the disorderly, or with such as 
go contrary to us, is a great grace, and a most 
commendable and manly thing. 

Thomas a Kempis. 

11 



i6i 



June 10 



Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that 
obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in 
darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the 
name of the Lord, and stay upon his God, — Isa. 
1. 10. 

The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. 
— Ps. xviii. 28. 

When we in darkness walk, 

Nor feel the heavenly flame, 
Then is the time to trust our God, 

And rest upon His name. 

A. M. Toplady. 

HE has an especial tenderness of love 
towards thee for that thou art in the 
dark and hast no light, and His heart is 
glad when thou dost arise and say, " I will go 
to my Father." For He sees thee through all 
the gloom through which thou canst not see 
Him. Say to Him, " My God, I am very dull 
and low and hard ; but Thou art wise and high 
and tender, and Thou art my God. I am Thy 
child. Forsake me not." Then fold the arms 
of thy faith, and wait in quietness until light 
goes up in the darkness. Fold the arms of thy 
Faith, I say, but not of thy Action: bethink 
thee of something that thou oughtest to do, and 
go and do it, if it be but the sweeping of a 
room, or the preparing of a meal, or a visit to a 
friend heed not thy feelings : do thy work, 

G. Macdonald. 



June ii 



In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, 
and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. — 
Ps. cxxxviii. 3. 

It is not that I feel less weak, but Thou 
Wilt be my strength 5 it is not that I see 
Less sin 5 but more of pardoning love with Thee, 
And all-sufficient grace. Enough ! And now 
All fluttering thought is stilled ; I only rest, 
And feel that Thou art near, and know that I am blest. 

F. R. Havergal. 

YEA, though thou canst not believe, yet be 
not dismayed thereat ; only do thou sink 
into, or at least pant after the hidden 
measure of life, which is not in that which dis- 
tressed, disturbeth, and filleth thee with thoughts, 
fears, troubles, anguish, darknesses, terrors, and 
the like ; no, no ! but in that which inclines to 
the patience, to the stillness, to the hope, to the 
waiting, to the silence before the Father. 

I. Penington. 

We have only to be patient, to pray, and to 
do His will, according to our present light and 
strength, and the growth of the soul will go on. 
The plant grows in the mist and under clouds 
as truly as under sunshine. So does the 
heavenly principle within. 

W. E. Channing. 



164 



June 12 



Then answered he me, and said, This is the con- 
dition of the battle which man that is born upon the 
earth shall fight ; that, if he be overcome, he _ shall 
suffer as thou hast said: but if he get the victory, 
he shall receive the thing that I say. — 2 Esdras 
vii. 57, 58. 

One holy Church, one army strong, 

One steadfast high intent, 
One working band, one harvest-song, 

One King omnipotent. S. Johnson. 

WE listened to a man whom we felt to be, 
with all his heart and soul and strength, 
striving against whatever was mean and 
unmanly and unrighteous in our little world. 
It was not the cold clear voice of one giving 
advice and warning from serene heights to 
those who were struggling and sinning below, 
but the warm living voice of one who was fight- 
ing for us and by our sides, and calling on us to 
help him and ourselves and one another. And 
so, wearily and little by little, but surely and 
steadily on the whole, was brought home to the 
young'boy, for the first time, the meaning of his 
life ; that it was no fool's or sluggard's paradise 
into which he had wandered by chance, but a 
battle-field ordained from of old, where there 
are no spectators, but the youngest must take 
his side, and the stakes are life and death. 

Thomas Hughes. 



June 13 



165 



If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we 
have fellowship one* with another. — 1 John i. 7. 

God is not unrighteous to forget your work and 
labor of love, which ye have showed toward His 
name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and 
do minister. - — Heb. vi. 10. 

Wherever in the world I am, 

In whatsoe'er estate, 
I have a fellowship with hearts, 

To keep and cultivate, 
And a work of lowly love to do 

For the Lord on whom I wait. 

A. L. Waring. 

WE do not always perceive that even the 
writing of a note of congratulation, the 
fabrication of something intended as an 
offering of affection, our necessary intercourse 
with characters which have no congeniality with 
our own, or hours apparently trifled away in 
the domestic circle, may be made by us the 
performance of a most sacred and blessed 
work; even the carrying out, after our feeble 
measure, of the design of God for the increase 
of happiness. Sarah W. Stephen. 

Definite work is not always that which is cut 
and squared for us, but that which comes as a 
claim upon the conscience, whether it 's nursing 
in a hospital, or hemming a handkerchief. 

Elizabeth M. Sewell. 



i 66 June 14 

The Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, 
and from thy fear, and from' the hard bondage 
wherein thou wast made to serve. — ISA. xiv. 3. 

To-day, beneath Thy chastening eye, 
I crave alone for peace and rest ; 
Submissive in Thy hand to lie, 
And feel that it is best. 

J. G. Whittier. 

OLORD, who art as the Shadow of a great 
Rock in a weary land, who beholdest Thy 
weak creatures weary of labor, weary ot 
pleasure, weary of hope deferred, weary of self ; 
in Thine abundant compassion, and unutterable 
tenderness, bring us, I pray Thee, unto Thy 

reSt " AmCn - Christina G. Rossetti. 

Grant to me above all things that can be 

desired, to rest in Thee, and in Thee to have 

mv heart at peace. Thou art the true peace of 

the heart, Thou its only rest ; out of Thee all 

things are hard and restless. In this very peace, 

that is, in Thee, the One Chiefest Eternal Good, 

I will sleep and rest. Amen. 

1 v Thomas a Kempis. 

Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord ; and 
our heart is restless until it rests in Thee. 

St. Augustine. 



June 15 



167 



God is our refuge and strength, a very present 
help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though 
the earth be removed, and though the mountains be 
carried into the midst of the sea. — Ps. xlvi. I, 2. 

Though waves and storms go o'er my head. 

Though strength and health and friends be gone, 

Though joys be withered all, and dead, 
Though every comfort be withdrawn, 

On this my steadfast soul relies, — 
Father ! Thy mercy never dies. 

JOHANN A. ROTHE. 

YOUR external circumstances may change, 
toil may take the place of rest, sickness 
of health, trials may thicken within and 
without. Externally, you are the prey of such 
circumstances ; but if your heart is stayed on 
God, no changes or chances can touch it, and 
all that may befall you will but draw you closer 
to Him. Whatever the present moment may 
bring, your knowledge that it is His will, and 
that your future heavenly life will be influenced 
by it, will make all not orrly tolerable, but wel- 
come to you, while no vicissitudes can affect you 
greatly, knowing that He who holds you in 
His powerful hand cannot change, but abideth 
forever. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 



i68 



June 16 



Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abun- 
dantly above all that we ask or think, according to 
the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in 
the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, 
world without end. Amen. — Eph. iii. 20, 21. 



We would not meagre gifts down-call 
When Thou dost yearn to yield us all \ 
But for this life, this little hour, 
Ask all Thy love and care and power. 

J. Ingelow. 

GOD so loveth us that He would make all 
things channels to us and messengers of 
His love. Do for His sake deeds of love, 
and He will give thee His love. Still thyself, 
thy own cares, thy own thoughts for Him, and 
He will speak to'thy heart. Ask for Himself, 
and He will give thee Himself. Truly, a secret 
hidden thing is the love of God, known only to 
them who seek it, and to them also secret, for 
what man can have of it here is how slight a 
foretaste of that endless ocean of His love ! 

E. B. Pusey. 



June 17 



169 



Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. — ■ 
Matt. vi. 28. 

They do not toil : 
Content with their allotted task 
They do but grow 5 they do not ask 
A richer lot, a higher sphere, 
But in their loveliness appear, 
And grow, and smile, and do their best, 
And unto God they leave the rest. 

Marianne Farningham. 

INTERPOSE no barrier to His mighty life- 
giving power, working in you all the good 
pleasure of His will. Yield yourself up 
utterly to His sweet control. Put your grow- 
ing into His hands as completely as you have 
put all your other affairs. Suffer Him to man- 
age it as He will. Do not concern yourself 
about it, nor even think of it. Trust Him ab- 
solutely and always. Accept each moment's 
dispensation as it comes to you from His dear 
hands, as being the needed sunshine or dew for 
that moment's growth. Say a continual " yes " 
to your Father's will. H. W. Smith. 

Thine own self-will and anxiety, thy hurry 
and labor, disturb thy peace, and prevent Me 
from working in thee. Look at the little flow- 
ers, in the serene summer days; they quietly 
open their petals, and the sun shines into them 
with his gentle influences. So will I do for 
thee, if thou wilt yield thyself to Me. 

G. Tersteegen. 



170 



June 18 



Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, 
which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, 
shall He not much more clothe you, 0 ye of little 
faith ? — xVIatt. vi. 30. 

/ trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever, — 
Ps. Hi. 8. 

Calmly we look behind us, on joys and sorrows past, 
We know that all is mercy now, and shall be well at 
last j 

Calmly we look before us, — we fear no future ill, 
Enough for safety and for peace, if Thou art with us 
still. 

Jane Borthwick. 

NEITHER go back in fear and misgiving 
to the past, nor in anxiety and forecast- 
ing to the future ; but lie quiet under 
His hand, having no will but His. 

H. E. Manning. 

I saw a delicate flower had grown up two 
feet high, between the horses' path and the 
wheel-track. An inch more to right or left had 
sealed its fate, or an inch higher; and yet it 
lived to flourish as much as if it had a thousand 
acres of untrodden space around it, and never 
knew the danger it incurred. It did not bor- 
row trouble, nor invite an evil fate by appre- 
hending it. 

Henry D. Thoreau. 



June ig 



171 



The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : He 
shall preserve thy souL — Ps. cxxi. 7. 

Under Thy wings, my God, I rest, 

Under Thy shadow safely lie 5 
By Thy own strength in peace possessed, 
While dreaded evils pass me by. 

A. L. Waring. 

A HEART rejoicing in God delights in all 
His will, and is surely provided with the 
most firm joy in all estates ; for if noth- 
ing can come to pass beside or against His will, 
then cannot that soul be vexed which delights 
in Him and hath no will but His, but follows 
Him in all times, in all estates; not only when 
He shines bright on them, but when they are 
clouded. That flower which follows the sun 
doth so even in dark and cloudy days : when it 
doth not shine forth, yet it follows the hidden 
course and motion of it. So the soul that 
moves after God keeps that course when He 
hides His face ; is content, yea, even glad at 
His will in all estates or conditions or events. 

R. Leighton. 

Let God do with me what He will, anything 
He will ; whatever it be, it will be either heaven 
itself or some beginning of it. 

Wm. Mountford. 



172 



June 20 



Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto 
me; for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the 
shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until 
these calamities be overpast. — Ps. lvii. I. 

My God ! in whom are all the springs 
Of boundless love and grace unknown, 

Hide me beneath Thy spreading wings, 
Till the dark cloud is overblown. 

I. Watts. 

IN time of trouble go not out of yourself to 
seek for aid ; for the whole benefit of trial 
consists in silence, patience, rest, and resig- 
nation. In this condition divine strength is 
found for the hard warfare, because God Him- 
self fights for the soul. 

M. de Molinos. 

In vain will you let your mind run out after 
help in times of trouble ; it is like putting to sea 
in a storm. Sit still, and feel after your princi- 
ples ; and, if you find none that furnish you with 
somewhat of 'a stay and prop, and which point 
you to quietness and silent submission, depend 
upon it you have never yet learned Truth from 
the Spirit of Truth, whatever notions thereof 
you may have picked up from this and the 
other description of it. 

M. A. Kelty. 



June 21 



i73 



Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee, — 
Ps. lxxxi. 7. 

Be strong, and of good courage ; dread not, nor 
be dismayed. — 1 Chron. xxii. 13. 

Thou canst calm the troubled mind, 

Thou its dread canst still ; 
Teach me to be all resigned 

To my Father's will. 

Heinrich Puchta. 

THOUGH this patient, meek resignation is 
to be exercised with regard to all outward 
things and occurrences of life, yet it 
chiefly respects our own inward state, the 
troubles, perplexities, weaknesses, and disorders 
of our own souls. And to stand turned to a 
patient, meek, humble resignation to God, when 
your own impatience, wrath, pride, and irresig- 
nation attack yourself, is a higher and more 
beneficial performance of this duty, than when 
you stand turned to meekness and patience, when 
attacked by the pride, or wrath, or disorderly 
passions of other people. 

Wm. Law. 



174 



June 22 



There hath no temptation taken you, but such as 
is common to man : but God is faithful, who will 
not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able ; 
but will with the temptation also make a way to 
escape , that ye may be able to bear it. — I Cor. x. 

i3> H- 



Not so, not so, no load of woe 

Need bring despairing frown ; 
For while we bear it, we can bear, 

Past that, we lay it down. 

Sarah Williams. 



EVERYTHING which happens, either hap- 
pens in such wise that thou art formed by 
nature to bear it, or that thou art not 
formed by nature to bear it. If then, it happens 
to thee in such way that thou art formed by 
nature to bear it, do not complain, but bear it as 
thou art formed by nature to bear it. But, if it 
happens in such wise that thou art not able to 
bear it, do not complain ; for it will perish after 
it has consumed thee. Remember, however, 
that thou art formed by nature to bear every- 
thing, with respect to which it depends on thy 
own opinion to make it endurable and tolerable, 
by thinking that it is either thy interest or thy 
duty to do this. 

Marcus Antoninus. 



June 23 



175 



Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why 
art thou disquieted within me ? hope thou in God ; 
for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my 
countenance, and my God. — Ps. xlii. 11. 

Ah ! why by passing clouds oppressed, 
Should vexing thoughts distract thy breast ? 
Turn thou to Him in every pain, 
Whom never suppliant sought in vain 5 
Thy strength in joy's ecstatic day, 
Thy hope, when joy has passed away. 

H. F. Lyte. 

BEWARE of letting your care degenerate 
into anxiety and unrest ; tossed as you are 
amid the winds and waves of sundry 
troubles, keep your eyes fixed on the Lord, and 
say, " Oh, my God, I look to Thee alone ; be 
Thou my guide, my pilot ; 55 and then be com- 
forted. When the shore is gained, who will 
heed the toil and the storm ? And we shall 
steer safely through every storm, so long as our 
heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage 
steadfast, and our trust fixed on God. If at 
times we are somewhat stunned by the tempest, 
never fear; let us take breath, and go on afresh. 
Do not be disconcerted by the fits of vexation 
and uneasiness which are sometimes produced 
by the multiplicity of your domestic worries. 
No indeed, dearest child, all these are but oppor- 
tunities of strengthening yourself in the loving, 
forbearing graces which our dear Lord sets be- 
fore us. St. Francis de Sales. 



176 



June 24 



Even so, Father ; for so it seemed good in Thy 
sight. — Matt. xi. 26. 

Let nothing make thee sad or fretful, 
Or too regretful ; 
Be still ; 

What God hath ordered must be right, 
Then find in it thine own delight, 

My will. P. Flemming. 

IF we listen to our self-love, we shall estimate 
our lot less by what it is, than by what it is 
not ; shall dwell on its hindrances, and be 
blind to its possibilities ; and, comparing it only 
with imaginary lives, shall indulge in flattering 
dreams of what we should do, if we had but 
power ; and give, if we had but wealth ; and be, 
if we had no temptations. We shall be forever 
querulously pleading our difficulties and priva- 
tions as excuses for our unloving temper and un-, 
fruitful life ; and fancying ourselves injured 
beings, virtually frowning at the dear Providence 
that loves us, and chafing with a self-torture 
which invites no pity. If we yield ourselves 
unto God, and sincerely accept our lot as as- 
signed by Him, we shall count up its contents, 
and disregard its omissions ; and be it as feeble 
as a cripple's, and as narrow as a child's, shall 
find in it resources of good surpassing our best 
economy, and sacred claims that may keep 
awake our highest will. J. Martineau. 



June 25 



177 



My times are in Thy hand, — Ps. xxxi. 15. 
Every purpose of the Lord shall be performed. — ■ 
Jer. li. 29. 

I am so glad ! It is such rest to know 

That Thou hast ordered and appointed all, 

And wilt yet order and appoint my lot. 

For though so much I cannot understand, 

And would not choose, has been, and yet may be, 

Thou choosest, Thou performest, Thou, my Lord. 

This is enough for me. 

F. R. Havergal. 

" T*T TE mustn't be in a hurry to fix and 
\\ choose our own lot; we must wait to 
be guided. We are led on, like the 
little children, by a way that we know not. It 
is a vain thought to flee from the work that 
God appoints us, for the sake of finding a 
greater blessing to our own souls ; as if we could 
choose for ourselves where we shall find the 
fulness of the Divine Presence, instead of seek- 
ing it where alone it is to be found, in loving 
obedience." 

George Eliot. 

Everywhere and at all times it is in thy 
power piously to acquiesce in thy present con- 
dition, and to behave justly to those who are 
about thee. 

Marcus Antoninus. 

12 



i 7 8 



June 26 



And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have 
ought against any : that your Father also which is 
in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if 
ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is 
in heaven forgive your trespasses. — Mark xi. 
25, 26. 

'T is not enough to weep my sins, 
'T is but one step to heaven : — 

When I am kind to others, — then 

I know myself forgiven. F. W. Faber. 

EVERY relation to mankind, of hate or 
scorn or neglect, is full of vexation and 
torment. There is nothing to do with 
men but to love them ; to contemplate their 
virtues with admiration, their faults with pity 
and forbearance, and their injuries with forgive- 
ness. Task all the ingenuity of your mind to 
devise some other thing, but you never can find 
it. To hate vour adversary will not help you ; 
to kill him will not help you ; nothing within 
the compass of the universe can help you, but 
to love him. But let that love flow out upon 
all around you, and what could harm you ? 
How many a knot of mystery and misunder- 
standing would be untied by one word spoken in 
simple and confiding truth of heart ! How 
many a solitary place would be made glad if 
love were there • and how many a dark dwell- 
ing would be filled with* light ! 

Orville Dewey. 



June 27 



179 



The kingdom of God is within you. — Luke 
xvii. 21. 

Oh, take this heart that I would give 

Forever to be all Thine own 5 
I to myself no more would live, — 

Come, Lord, be Thou my King alone. 

G. Tersteegen. 

HEREIN is the work assigned to the in- 
dividual soul, to have life in itself, to 
make our sphere, whatever it is, suffi- 
cient for a reign of God within ourselves, for a 
true and full reign of our Father's abounding 
spirit, — thankful, unutterably thankful, if with 
the place and the companionship assigned to us 
we are permitted to build an earthly tabernacle 
of grace and goodness and holy love, a home 
like a temple; but, should this be denied us, 
resolved for our own souls that God shall reign 
there, for ourselves at least that we will not, by 
sin or disobedience or impious distrust, break 
with our own wills our filial connection with 
our Father, — that whether joyful or sorrowing, 
struggling with the perplexity and foulness of 
circumstance, or in an atmosphere of peace, 
whether in dear fellowship or alone, our desire 
and prayer shall be that God may have in us a 
realm where His will is law, and where obe- 
dience and submission spring, not from calcu- 
lating prudence or ungodly fear, but from 
communion of spirit, ever humble aspiration, 
and ever loving trust. j. H. Thom. 



180 J une 28 

The Lord preserveth the simple. — Ps. cxvi. 6. 



1 



Thy home is with the humble, Lord 

The simple are Thy rest ; 
Thy lodging is in childlike hearts ; 

Thou makest there Thy nest. 

F. W. Faber. 



THIS deliverance of the soul from all use- 
less and selfish and unquiet cares, brings 
to it an unspeakable peace and freedom ; 
this is true simplicity. This state of entire 
resignation and perpetual acquiescence pro- 
duces true liberty ; and this liberty brings per- 
fect simplicity. ' The soul which knows no 
self-seeking, no interested ends, is thoroughly 
candid ; it goes straight forward without hin- 
drance ; its path opens daily more and more to 
« perfect day," in proportion as its self-renunci- 
ation and its self-forgetfulness increase; and its 
peace, amid whatever troubles beset it, will be 
as boundless as the depths of the sea. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 



June 29 



181 



Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast 
himself as he that putteth it off. — 1 Kings xx. i i. 

Put on the whole armor of God. — Eph. vi. 11. 

Was I not girded for the battle-field ? 
Bore I not helm of pride and glittering sword ? 
Behold the fragments of my broken shield, 
And lend to me Thy heavenly armor, Lord ! 

Anon. 

OH, be at least able to say in that day, — 
Lord, I am no hero. I have been care- 
less, cowardly, sometimes all but mutin- 
ous. Punishment I have deserved, I deny it 
not. But a traitor I have never been ; a de- 
serter I have never been. I have tried to fight 
on Thy side in Thy battle against evil. I have 
tried to do the duty which lay nearest me ; and 
to leave whatever Thou didst commit to my 
charge a little better than I found it. I have 
not been good, but I have at least tried to be 
good. Take the will for the deed, good Lord. 
Strike not my unworthy name off the roll-call 
of the noble and victorious army, which is the 
blessed company of all faithful people ; and let 
me, too, be found written in the Book of Life ; 
even though I stand the lowest and last upon 
its list. Amen. 

C. Kingsley. 



182 



June 30 



And the ivork of righteousness shall be peace ; 
and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assur- 
ance forever, — Is a. xxxii. 17. 

The heart that ministers for Thee 

In Thy own work will rest ; 
And the subject spirit of a child 

Can serve Thy children best. 

A. L. Waring. 



IT matters not where or what we are, so we 
be His servants. They are happy who 
have a wide field and great strength to fulfil 
His missions of compassion ; and they, too, are 
blessed who, in sheltered homes and narrow 
ways of duty, wait upon Him in lowly services 
of love. Wise or simple, gifted or slender in 
knowledge, in the world's gaze or in hidden 
paths, high or low, encompassed by affections 
and joys of home, or lonely and content in God 
alone/ what matters, so that they bear the seal 
of the living God ? Blessed company, unknown 
to each other, unknowing even themselves ! 

H. E. Manning. 



July i 183 



In the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the 
Lord, — Ex. xvi. 7. 

Serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope. — Rom. 
xii. 11, 12. 

Every day is a fresh beginning, 

Every morn is the world made new. 

You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, 

Here is a beautiful hope for you 5 

A hope for me and a hope for you. 

Susan Coolidge. 



BE patient with every one, but above all 
with yourself. I mean, do not be dis- 
turbed because of your imperfections, and 
always rise up bravely from a fall. I am glad 
that you make a daily new beginning ; there is 
no better means of progress in the spiritual life 
than to be continually beginning afresh, and 
never to think that we have done enough. 

St. Francis de Sales. 



Because perseverance is so difficult, even 
when supported by the grace of God, thence is 
the value of new beginnings. For new begin- 
nings are the life of perseverance. 

E. B. Pusey. 



July 2 



Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a 
conscience void of offence toward God, and toward 
men. — - Acts xxiv. 16. 

/ will instruct thee and teach thee in the way 
which thou shalt go : I will guide thee with mine 
eye. — Ps. xxxii. 8. 

Oh, keep thy conscience sensitive ; 

No inward token miss 5 
And go where grace entices thee ; — 

Perfection lies in this. 

F. W. Faber. 

WE need only obey. There is guidance 
for each of us, 'and by lowly listening 
we shall hear the right word. 

R. VV. Emerson. 

The heights of Christian perfection can only 
be reached by faithfully each moment following 
the Guide who is to lead you there, and He re- 
veals your way to you one step at a time, in the 
little things of your daily lives, asking only on 
your part that you yield yourselves up to His 
guidance. If then, in anything you feel doubt- 
ful or troubled, be sure that it is the voice of 
your Lord, and surrender it at once to His bid- 
ding, rejoicing with a great joy that He has be- 
gun thus to lead and guide you. 
& H. W. Smith. 



July 3 185 



He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. 
Ps. cxxx. 8. 



Be it according to Thy word 5 

Redeem me from all sin 5 
My heart would now receive Thee, Lord, 

Come in, my Lord, come in ! 

C. Wesley. 



HEN you wake, or as soon as you are 



dressed, offer up your whole self to God, 



soul and body, thoughts and purposes 
and desires, to be for that day what He wills. 
Think of the occasions of the sin likely to befall 
you, and go, as a child, to your Father which is 
in heaven, and tell Him in childlike, simple 
words, your trials — in some such simple words 
as these — " Thou knowest, good Lord, that I 
am tempted to — [then name the temptations to it, 
and the ways in which you sin, as well as you know 
them~\. But, good Lord, for love of Thee, I 
would this day keep wholly from all [naming the 
sin] and be very [naming the opposite grace] . I 
will not, by Thy grace, do one [N.] act, or 
speak one [N.] word, or give one [N.] look, 
or harbor one [N.] thought in my soul. If 
Thou allow any of these temptations to come 
upon me this day, I desire to think, speak, and 
do only what Thou wiliest. Lord, without 
Thee I can do nothing; with Thee I can do 




all. 



E. B. Pusey. 



i86 



July 4 



Look at the generations of old, and see ; did ever 
any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or 
did any abide in His fear, and was forsaken ? or 
whom did He ever despise, that called upon Him ? 

— ECCLESIASTICUS ii. 10. 

Remember, 0 Lord, Thy tender mercies, and 
Thy loving-kindnesses ; for they have been ever of 
old. — Ps. xxv. 6. 

My Father ! see 
I trust the faithfulness displayed of old, 
I trust the love that never can grow cold — 

I trust in Thee. 

Christian Intelligencer. 

BE not so much discouraged in the sight of 
what is yet to be done, as comforted in 
His good-will towards thee. 'T is true, 
He hath chastened thee with rods and sore 
afflictions; but did He ever take away His 
loving-kindness from thee ? or did His faithful- 
ness ever fail in the sorest, blackest, thickest, 
darkest night that ever befell thee ? 

I. Penington. 

We call Him the « God of our fathers; " and 
we feel that there is some stability at centre, 
while we can tell our cares to One listening at 
our right hand, by whom theirs are remembered 
and removed. 

J. Martineau. 



July 5 187 



He stayeth His rough wind in the day of the 
east wind. — Isa. xxvii. 8. 

A bruised reed shall He not break. — Isa. xlii. 3. 

All my life I still have found, 

And I will forget it never 5 
Every sorrow hath its bound, 

And no cross endures forever. 
All things else have but their day, 
God's love only lasts for aye. 

P. Gerhardt. 

WE never have more than we can bear. 
The present hour we are always able to 
endure. As our day, so is our strength. 
If the trials of many years were gathered into 
one, they would overwhelm us; therefore, in 
pity to our little strength, He sends first one, 
then another, then removes both, and lays on a 
third, heavier, perhaps, than either; but all is so 
wisely measured to our strength that the bruised 
reed is never broken. We do not enough look 
at our trials in this continuous and successive 
view. Each one is sent to teach us something, 
and altogether they have a lesson which is be- 
yond the power of any to teach alone. 

H. E. Manning. 



i88 



July 6 



/ the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and 
will hold thine hand, and will keep thee. — Isa. 
xlii. 6. 

O keep my soul, and deliver me : for I put my 
trust in Thee. — Ps. xxv. 20. 

I do not ask my cross to understand, 

My way to see ; 
Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand, 

And follow Thee. 

Adelaide A. Procter. 

OLORD, if only my will may remain 
right and firm towards Thee, do with me 
whatsoever it shall please Thee. For it 
cannot be anything but good, whatsoever Thou 
shalt do with me. If it be Thy will I should 
be in darkness, be Thou blessed ; and, if it be 
Thy will I should be in light, be Thou again 
blessed If Thou vouchsafe to comfort me, be 
Thou blessed; and, if Thou wilt have me 
afflicted, be Thou equally blessed. O Lord ! 
for Thy sake I will cheerfully suffer whatever 
shall come on me with Thy permission. 

Thomas a Kempis. 

My soul could not incline itself on the one 
side or the other, since another will had taken 
the place of its own ; but only nourished itself 
with the daily providences of God. 

Madame Guyon. 



July 7 189 

The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom 
shall I fear ? The Lord is the strength of my life ; 
of whom shall I be afraid? — Ps. xxvii. 1. 

Thou hidden Source of calm repose, 

Thou all-sufficient Love divine, 
My Help and Refuge from my foes, 

Secure I am while Thou art mine : 
And 1 0 1 f rom s ; n> and grief) and sh 

I hide me, Father, in Thy name. 

C. Wesley. 

WHATEVER troubles come on you, of 
mind, body, or estate, from within or 
from without, from chance or from 
intent, from friends or foes — whatever your 
trouble be, though you be lonely, O children of 
a heavenly Father, be not afraid ! 

J. H. Newman. 

Whatsoever befalleth thee, receive it not 
from the hand of any creature, but from Him 
a one, and render back all to Him, seeking in 
all things His pleasure and honor, the purifying 
and subduing of thyself. What can harm thee, 
when all must first touch God, within whom 
thou hast enclosed thyself? R. Lei ght 0N . 

How God rejoices over a soul, which, sur- 
rounded on all sides by suffering and misery, 
does that upon earth which the angels do in 
heaven ; namely, loves, adores, and praises God ! 

G. Tersteegen. 



190 



July 8 



Be ye Bid one to another. — Eph. iv. 32. 



She doeth little kindnesses 

Which most leave undone or despise 5 
For nought which sets one heart at ease, 
And giveth happiness or peace, 

Is low-esteemed in her eyes. 



W 



HAT was the secret of such a one's 
power ? What had she done ? Abso- 
lutely nothing ; but radiant smiles, beam- 
ing good-humor, the tact of divining what every 
one felt and every one wanted, told that she had 
got out of self and learned to think of others ; ; 
fo that at one time it showed itself m deprecat- 
ing the quarrel, which lowering brows and 
raised tones already showed to be impending, by 
sweet words; at another, by smoothing an 
invalid's pillow; at another by soothing a 
obbing child ; at another, by humoring and 
softening a father who had returned weary and 
ill-tempered from the irritating cares of business 
None but she saw those things None but a 
Wing heart could see them. That was the 
secret of her heavenly power. The one who 
will be found in trial capable of great acts of 
love, is ever the one who is always doing con- 
siderate small ones. p ^ r<jberT50Nj 



July 9 191 



Love is of God; and every one that loveth is 
born of God, and knoweth God. — 1 John iv. 7. 

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, 
if any man have a quarrel (or u complaint ") 
against any : even as Christ forgave you, so also 
do ye. — Col. iii. 13. 

Oh, might we all our lineage prove, 
Give and forgive, do good and love 5 
By soft endearments, in kind strife, 
Lightening the load of daily life. 

J. Keble. 

WE may, if we choose, make the worst of 
one another. Every one has his weak 
points ; every one has his faults ; we 
may make the worst of these ; we may fix our 
attention constantly upon these. But we may 
also make the best of one another. We may 
forgive, even as we hope to be forgiven. We 
may put ourselves in the place of others, and 
ask what we should wish to be done to us, and 
thought of us, were we in their place. By lov- 
ing whatever is lovable in those around us, love 
will flow back from them to us, and life will 
become a pleasure instead of a pain ; and earth 
will become like heaven ; and we shall become 
not unworthy followers of Him whose name is 
Love. 

A. P. Stanley. 



1^2 



July 10 



The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me : 
Thy mercy, 0 Lord, endureth forever : forsake not 
the works of Thine own hands. — Ps. cxxxviii. 8. 



As God leads me, will I go, — 

Nor choose my way ; 
Let Him choose the joy or woe 

Of every day : 
They cannot hurt my soul, 
Because in His control : 
I leave to Him the whole, — 

His children may. 

L. Gedicke. 



WHY is it that we are so busy with the 
future ? It is not our province ; and is 
there not a criminal interference with 
Him to whom it belongs, in our feverish, anxious 
attempts to dispose of it, and in filling it up with 
shadows of good and evil shaped by our own 
wild imaginations ? To do God's will as fast 
as it is made known to us, to inquire hourly — 
I had almost said each moment — what He re- 
quires of us, and to leave ourselves, our friends, 
and every interest at His control, with a cheer- 
ful trust that the path which He marks out 
leads to our perfection and to Himself, — this 
is at once our duty and happiness ; and why 
will we not walk in the plain, simple way ? 

William E. Channing. 



July ii 193 



When He giveth quietness, who then can make 
trouble? — Job xxxiv. 29. 

None of these things move me, — Acts xx. 24. 

I 've many a cross to take up now, 

And many left behind 5 
But present troubles move me not, 

Nor shake my quiet mind. 
And what may be to-morrow's cross 

I never seek to find \ 
My Father says, (( Leave that to me, 

And keep a quiet mind." Anon. 

LET us then think only of the present, and 
not even permit our minds to wander with 
curiosity into the future. This future is 
not yet ours ; perhaps it never will be. It is 
exposing ourselves to temptation to wish to 
anticipate God, and to prepare ourselves for 
things which He may not destine for us. If 
such things should come to pass, He will give 
us light and strength according to the need. 
Why should we desire to meet difficulties pre- 
maturely, when we have neither strength nor 
light as yet provided for them ? Let us give 
heed to the present, whose duties are pressing ; 
it is fidelity to the present which prepares us for 
fidelity in the future. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

Every hour comes with some little fagot of 
God's will fastened upon its back. 

F. W. Faber. 

13 



July 12 



Be strong, and of a good courage, fear not, nor he 
afraid . . . for the Lord thy God, He it is that 
doth go with thee ; He will not fail thee, nor for- 
sake thee. — Deut. xxxi. 6. 



The timid it concerns to ask their way, 

And fear what foe in caves and swamps can stray, 

To make no step until the event is known, 

And ills to come as evils past bemoan. 

Not so the wise ; no coward watch he keeps 

To spy what danger on his pathway creeps 5 

Go where he will, the wise man is at home, 

His hearth the earth, — his hall the azure dome ; 

Where his clear spirit leads him, there's his road, 

By God's own light illumined and foreshowed. 

R. W. Emerson. 



THOUGH I sympathize, I do not share in 
the least the feeling of being disheartened 
and cast down. It is not things of this 
sort that depress me, or ever will. The con- 
trary things, praise, openings, the feeling of the 
greatness of my work, and my inability in re- 
lation to it, these things oppress and cast me 
down ; but little hindrances, and closing up of 
accustomed or expected avenues, and the pres- 
ence of difficulties to be overcome, — I'm not 
going to be cast down by trifles such as these. 

James Hinton. 



July 13 194 



And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and 
satisfy thy soul in drought, — Isa. Iviii. II. 



Wherever He may guide me, 

No want shall turn me back ; 
My Shepherd is beside me, 

And nothing can I lack. 
His wisdom ever waketh, 

His sight is never dim, — 
He knows the way He taketh, 

And I will walk with Him. 

A. L. Waring. 



ABANDON yourself to His care and guid- 
ance, as a sheep in the care of a shepherd, 
and trust Him utterly. No matter though 
you may seem to yourself to be in the very 
midst of a desert, with nothing green about you, 
inwardly or outwardly, and may think you will 
have to make a long journey before you can 
get into the green pastures. Our Shepherd will 
turn that very place where you are into green 
pastures, for He has power to make the desert 
rejoice and blossom as a rose. 

H. W. Smith. 



196 July 14 



Be not conformed to this world: but be ye trans- 
formed by the renewing of your mind. — Rom. 
xii. 2. 

Father, let our faithful mind 
Rest, on Thee alone inclined ; 
Every anxious thought repress, 
Keep our souls in perfect peace. 

C. Wesley. 

RETIREMENT from anxieties of every 
kind ; entering into no disputes ; avoiding 
all frivolous talk; and simplifying every- 
thing we engage in, whether in a way of doing 
or suffering; denying the imagination its false 
activities, and the intellect its false searchings 
after what it cannot obtain, — these seem to be 
some of the steps that lead to obedience to the 
holv precept in our text. James P. Greaves. 

Retire inwardly ; wait to feel somewhat of 
God's Spirit, discovering and drawing away from 
that which is contrary to His holy nature, and 
leading into that which is acceptable to Him. 
As the mind is joined to this, some true light 
and life is received. I. Penington. 

Act up faithfully to your convictions; and 
when vou have been unfaithful, bear with your- 
self, and resume always with calm simplicity 
vour little task. Suppress, as much as you pos- 
sibly can, all recurrence to yourself, and you 
will suppress much vanity. Accustom yourself 
to much calmness and an indifference to events. 

Madame Guyox. 



July 15 197 



Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; even lift them 
up, ye everlasting doors ; and the King of glory 
shall come in, — Ps. xxiv. 9. 

Te are the temple of the living God, — 2 Cor. 
vi. 16. 



Fling wide the portals of your heart, 
Make it a temple set apart 
From earthly use for Heaven's employ, 
Adorned with prayer, and love, and joy. 
So shall your Sovereign enter in, 
And new and nobler life begin. 

G. Weissel. 

THOU art to know that thy soul is the 
centre, habitation, and kingdom of God. 
That, therefore, to the end the sovereign 
King may rest on that throne of thy soul, thou 
oughtest to take pains to keep it clean, quiet, 
and peaceable, — clean from guilt and defects; 
quiet from fears; and peaceable in temptations 
and tribulations. Thou oughtest always, then, 
to keep thine heart in peace, that thou mayest 
keep pure that temple of God ; and with a right 
and pure intention thou art to work, pray, obey, 
and suffer (without being in the least moved), 
whatever it pleases the Lord to send unto thee. 

M. de Molinos. 



i 9 8 July 16 



Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast 
laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou 
hast wrought for them that trust in Thee. — Ps„ 
xxxi. 19. 

/ will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt 
bountifully with me. — Ps. xiii. 6. 

Thy calmness bends serene above 

My restlessness to still 5 
Around me flows Thy quickening life, 

To nerve my faltering will 5 
Thy presence fills my solitude ; 
Thy providence turns all to good. 

S. Longfellow. 

WITH a heart devoted to God and full of 
God, no longer seek Him in the heavens 
above or the earth beneath, or in the 
things under the earth, but recognize Him as 
the great fact of the universe, separate from no 
place or part, but revealed in all places and in 
all things and events, moment by moment. And 
as eternity alone will exhaust this momentary 
revelation, which has sometimes been called the 
Eternal Now, thou shalt thus find God ever 
present and ever new ; and thy soul shall adore 
Him and feed upon Him in the things and 
events which each new moment brings ; and 
thou shalt never be absent from Him, and He 
shall never be absent from thee. 

T. C. Upham. 



July 17 



For I reckon that the sufferings of this present 
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory 
which shall be revealed in us. — Rom. viii. 18. 

The power of an endless life. — Heb. vii. 16. 



Believ'st thou in eternal things ? 

Thou knowest, in thy inmost heart, 
Thou art not clay 5 thy soul hath wings, 

And what thou seest is but part. 
Make this thy med'cine for the smart 

Of every day's distress 5 be dumb, 
In each new loss thou truly art 

Tasting the power of things that come. 

T. W. Parsons. 



EVERY contradiction of our will, every little 
ailment, every petty disappointment, will, 
if we take it patiently, become a blessing. 
So, walking on earth, we may be in heaven ; 
the ill-tempers of others, the slights and rude- 
nesses of the world, ill-health, the daily accidents 
with which God has mercifully strewed our 
paths, instead of ruffling or disturbing our peace, 
may cause His peace to be shed abroad in our 
hearts abundantly. 

E. B. Pusey. 



200 



July i3 



A new commandment I give unto you, That ye 
love one another ; as I have loved you, that ye also 
love one another. — John xiii. 34. 

And the Lord make you to increase and abound in 
love, one toward another, and toward all men. — 
1 Thess. iii. 12. 

Let love through all my conduct shine, 
An image fair, though faint, of Thine ; 
Thus let me His disciple prove, 
Who came to manifest Thy love. 

Simon Browne. 

WE should arrive at a fulness of love ex- 
tending to the whole creation, a desire 
to impart, to pour out in full and copious 
streams the love and goodness we bear to all 
around us. J. P - Greaves. 

Goodness and love mould the form into their 
own image, and cause the joy and beauty of love 
to shine^ forth from every part of the face. 
When this form of love is seen, it appears 
ineffably beautiful, and affects with delight the 
inmost life of the soul. E. Swedenborg, 

The soul within had so often lighted up her 
countenance with its own full happiness and joy, 
that something of a permanent radiance remained 
U p 0n it, Sarah W. Stephen. 



July 19 201 



The Lord is good to all : and His tender mercies 
are over all His works. — Ps. cxlv. 9. 

For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the 
cattle upon a thousand hills. — Ps. 1. 10. 

Maker of earth and sea and sky, 
Creation's sovereign Lord and King, 

Who hung the starry worlds on high, 
And formed alike the sparrow's wing ; 

Bless the dumb creatures of Thy care, 

And listen to their voiceless prayer. 
v Anon. 

I BELIEVE where the love of God is verily 
perfected, and the true spirit of government 
watchfully attended to, a tenderness towards 
all creatures made subject to us will be experi- 
enced ; and a care felt in us, that we do not 
lessen that sweetness of life in the animal crea- 
tion, which the great Creator intends for them 
under our government. To say we love God 
as unseen, and at the same time exercise cruelty 
toward the least creature moving by His life, or 
by life derived from Him, was a contradiction 
in itself. 

John Woolman. 

I would give nothing for that man's religion 
whose very dog and cat are not the better for it. 

Rowland Hill. 



202 



July 20 



Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have 
spent my strength for nought, and in vain. — Is A. 
xlix. 4. 

Because I spent the strength Thou gavest me 
In struggle which Thou never didst ordain, 
And have but dregs of life to offer Thee — 
O Lord, I do repent. 

Sarah Williams. 

MIND, it is our best work that He wants, 
not the dregs of our exhaustion. I 
think He must prefer quality to quantity. 

George Macdonald* 
If the people about you are carrying on their 
business or their benevolence at a pace which 
drains the life out of you, resolutely take a 
slower pace ; be called a laggard, make less 
money, accomplish less work than they, but be 
what you were meant to be and can be. You 
have your natural limit of power as much as an 
engine, - — ten-horse power, or twenty, or a 
hundred. You are fit to do certain kinds of 
work, and you need a certain kind and amount 
of fuel, and a certain kind of handling. 

George S. Merriam. 

In your occupations, try to possess your soul 
in peace. It is not a good plan to be in haste 
to perform any action that it may be the sooner 
over. On the contrary, you should accustom 
yourself to do whatever you have to do with 
tranquillity, in order that you may retain the 
possession of yourself and of settled peace. 

Madame Guyon. 



203 



For which cause we faint not ; but, though our 
outward man perish, yet the inward man is re- 
newed day by day. — 2 Cor. iv. 16. 

Let my soul beneath her load 

Faint not through the o'erwearied flesh ; 

Let me hourly drink afresh 

Love and peace from Thee, my God ! 

C. F. Richter. 

IN my attempts to promote the comfort of my 
family, the quiet of my spirit has been dis- 
turbed. Some of this is doubtless owing to 
physical weakness ; but, with every temptation, 
there is a way of escape ; there is never any need 
to sin. Another thing I have suffered loss from, 
— entering into the business of the day without 
seeking to have my spirit quieted and directed. 
So many things press upon me, this is some- 
times neglected ; shame to me that it should 
be so. 

This is of great importance, to watch care- 
fully, — now I am so weak — not to over- 
fatigue myself, because then I cannot contribute 
to the pleasure of others ; and a placid face and 
a gentle tone will make my family more happy 
than anything else I can do for them. Our 
own will gets sadly into the performance of our 
duties sometimes. 

Elizabeth T. King. 



204 



July 22 



Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, 
even they shall understand the loving-kindness of 
the Lord. — Ps. cvii. 43. 

What channel needs our faith, except the eyes ? 

God leaves no spot of earth unglorified 5 
Profuse and wasteful, lovelinesses rise ; 

New beauties dawn before the old have died. 

Trust thou thy joys in keeping of the Power 

Who holds these changing shadows in His hand ; 

Believe and live, and know that hour by hour 
Will ripple newer beauty to thy strand. 

T. W. HlGGINSON. 



I WONDERED over again for the hun- 
dredth time what could be the principle 
which, in the wildest, most lawless, fan- 
tastically chaotic, apparently capricious work of 
nature, always kept it beautiful. The beauty 
of holiness must be at the heart of it somehow, 
I thought. Because our God is so free from 
stain, so loving, so unselfish, so good, so alto- 
gether what He wants us to be, so holy, there- 
fore all His works declare Him in beauty ; 
His fingers can touch nothing but to mould it 
into loveliness ; and even the play of His ele- 
ments is in gjace and tenderness of form. 

G. Macdonald. 



July 23 



205 



Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind. — Luke x. 27. 

O God, what offering shall I give 

To Thee, the Lord of earth and skies ? 

My spirit, soul, and flesh receive, 

A holy, living sacrifice. J. Lange. 

TO love God " with all our heart," is to 
know the spiritual passion of measureless 
gratitude for loving-kindness, and self- 
devotedness to goodness ; to love Him u with 
all our mind," is to know the passion for Truth 
that is the enthusiasm of Science, the passion 
for Beauty that inspires the poet and the artist, 
when all truth and beauty are regarded as the 
self-revealings of God ; to love Him " with all 
our soul," is to know the saint's rapture of de- 
votion and gaze of penitential awe into the face 
of the All-holy, the saint's abhorrence of sin, 
and agony of desire to save a sinner's soul ; and 
to love Him " with all our strength," is the 
supreme spiritual passion that tests the rest ; the 
passion for reality, for worship in spirit and in 
truth, for being what we adore, for doing what 
we know to be God's word ; the loyalty that 
exacts the living sacrifice, the whole burnt-offer- 
ing that is our reasonable service, and in our 
coldest hours keeps steadfast to what seemed 
good when we were aglow. J. H. Thom. 



2o6 



July 24 



Walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto 
His kingdom and glory. — 1 Thess. ii. 12. 

Surely the Lord is in this place ; and I knew it 
not. — Gen. xxviii. 16. 

Thou earnest not to thy place by accident, 

It is the very place God meant for thee $ 

And shouldst thou there small scope for action see, 

Do not for this give room to discontent. 

R. C. Trench. 

ACCEPT the place the divine providence 
has found for you, the society of your 
contemporaries, the connection of events. 

R. W. Emerson. 

Adapt thyself to the things with which thy 
lot has been cast ; and love the men with whom 
it is thy portion to live, and that with a sincere 
affection. No longer be either dissatisfied with 
thy present lot, or shrink from the future. 

Marcus Antoninus. 

I love best to have each thing in its season, 
doing without it at all other times. I have never 
got over my surprise that I should have been 
born into the most estimable place in all the 
world, and in the very nick of time too. 

H. D. Thoreau. 



July 25 



207 



He knoweth the way that I take, — Job xxiii. 10. 

Man's goings are of the Lord ; how can a man 
then understand his own way ? — - Pro v. xx. 24. 

Be quiet, why this anxious heed 
About thy tangled ways ? 
God knows them all, He giveth speed, 
And He allows delays. 

E. W. 

WE complain of the slow, dull life we are 
forced to lead, of our humble sphere of 
action, of our low position in the scale 
of society, of our having no room to make our- 
selves known, of our wasted energies, of our 
years of patience. So do we say that we have 
no Father who is directing our life; so do we 
say that God has forgotten us ; so do we boldly 
judge what life is best for us ; and so by our com- 
plaining do we lose the use and profit of the 
quiet years. O men of little faith ! Because 
you are not sent out yet into your labor, do you 
think God has ceased to remember you ? Be- 
cause you are forced to be outwardly inactive, 
do you think you, also, may not be, in your 
years of quiet, " about your Father's business" ? 
It is a period given to us in which to mature 
ourselves for the work which God will give us 
to do. 

Stopford A. Brooke. 



July 26 



They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount 
Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. 
As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the 
Lord is round about His people from henceforth 
even for ever, — Ps. cxxv. I, 2. 



How on a rock they stand, 
Who watch His eye, and hold His guiding hand ! 
Not half so fixed amid her vassal hills, 
Rises the holy pile that Kedron's valley fills. 

J. Keble. 



THx\T is the way to be immovable in the 
midst of troubles, as a rock amidst the 
waves. When God is in the midst of a 
kingdom or city, He makes it firm as Mount 
Sion, that cannot be removed. When He is in 
the midst of a soul, though calamities throng 
about it on all hands, and roar like the billows 
of the sea, yet there is a constant calm within, 
such a peace as the world can neither give nor 
take awav. What is it but want of lodging 
God in the soul, and that in His stead the world 
is in men's hearts, that makes them shake like 
leaves at every blast of danger? 

R. Leighton. 



July 27 209 



He that received seed into the good ground is 
he that heareth the word, and under standeth it; 
which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some 
an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty, — Matt. 
xiii. 23. 

Then bless thy secret growth, nor catch 
At noise, but thrive unseen and dumb ; 

Keep clean, bear fruit, earn life, and watch 
Till the white-winged reapers come. 

H. Vaughan. 

HE does not need to transplant us into a 
different field, but right where we are, 
with just the circumstances that sur- 
round us, He makes His sun to shine and His 
dew to fall upon us, and transforms the very 
things that were before our greatest hindrances, 
into the chiefest and most blessed means of our 
growth. No difficulties in your case can baffle 
Him. No dwarfing of your growth in years 
that are past, no apparent dryness of your in- 
ward springs of life, no crookedness or deform- 
ity in any of your past development, can in the 
least mar the perfect work that He will ac- 
complish, if you will only put yourselves abso- 
lutely into His hands, and let Him have His 
own way with you. 

H. W. Smith. 



14 



2IO 



July 28 



But I would not have you to be ignorant, breth- 
ren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sor- 
row not, even as others which have no hope. — I 
Thess. iv. 13. 

Yet Love will dream, and Faith will trust 
(Since He who knows our need is just), 

That somehow, somewhere, meet we must. 
Alas for him who never sees 
The stars shine through his cypress trees ; 

Who hath not learned in hours of faith, 
The truth to flesh and sense unknown, 

That life is ever Lord of Death, 
And Love can never lose its own. 

J. G. Whittier. 

WHILE we poor wayfarers still toil, with 
hot and bleeding feet, along the high- 
way and the dust of life, our com- 
panions have but mounted the divergent path, 
to explore the more sacred streams, and visit 
the diviner vales, and wander amid the everlast- 
ing Alps, of God's upper province of creation. 
And so we keep up the courage of our hearts, 
and refresh ourselves with the memories of love, 
and travel forward in the ways of duty, with 
less weary step, feeling ever for the hand of 
God, and listening for the domestic voices of 
the immortals whose happy welcome waits us. 
Death, in short, under the Christian aspect, is 
but God's method of colonization ; the transi- 
tion from this mother-country of our race to the 
fairer and newer world of our emigration. 

J. Martineau. 



July 29 



211 



But this I say, brethren, the time is short, — ■ 1 
Cor. vii. 29. 

I sometimes feel the thread of life is slender, 
And soon with me the labor will be wrought 5 
Then grows my heart to other hearts more tender. 

The time is short. 

D. M. Craik. 

OH, my dear friends, you who are letting 
miserable misunderstandings run on from 
year to year, meaning to clear them up 
some day ; you who are keeping wretched quar- 
rels alive because you cannot quite make up 
your mind that now is the day to sacrifice your 
pride and kill them ; you who are passing men 
sullenly upon the street, not speaking to them 
out of some silly spite, and yet knowing that it 
would fill you with shame and remorse if you 
heard that one of those men were dead to- 
morrow morning ; you who are letting your 
neighbor starve, till you hear that he is dying 
of starvation ; or letting your friend's heart ache 
for a word of appreciation or sympathy, which 
you mean to give him some day, — if you only 
could know and see and feel, all of a sudden, 
that "the time is short," how it would break 
the spell ! How you would go instantly and 
do the thing which you might never have an- 
other chance to do. 

Phillips Brooks. 



212 



July 30 



Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my trans- 
gressions : according to Thy mercy remember Thou 
me for Thy goodness* sake, O Lord, — Ps. xxv. 7. 

When on my aching, burdened heart 

My sins lie heavily, 
My pardon speak, new peace impart, 

In love remember me. 

T. Haweis. 



WE need to know that our sins are for- 
given. And how shall we know this ? 
By feeling that we have peace with 
God, — by feeling that we are able so to trust 
in the divine compassion and infinite tenderness 
of our Father, as to arise and go to Him, when- 
ever we commit sin, and say at once to Him, 
" Father, I have sinned ; forgive me." To 
know that we are forgiven, it is only necessary 
to look at our Father's love till it sinks into our 
heart, to open our soul to Him till He shall 
pour His love into it ; to wait on Him till we 
find peace, till our conscience no longer tor- 
ments us, till the weight of responsibility ceases 
to be an oppressive burden to us, till we can 
feel that our sins, great as they are, cannot keep 
us away from our Heavenly Father. 

J. F. Clarke. 



July 31 



213 



/ have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy trans- 
gressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins : return unto Me\ 
for I have redeemed thee, — Isa. xliv. 22. 

He will turn again, He will have compassion 
upon us ; He will subdue our iniquities ; and Thou 
wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. — 
Micah vii. 19. 

If my shut eyes should dare their lids to part, 
I know how they must quail beneath the blaze 
Of Thy Love's greatness. No 5 I dare not raise 
One prayer, to look aloft, lest it should gaze 
On such forgiveness as would break my heart. 

H. S. Sutton. 

OLORD God gracious and merciful, give 
us, I entreat Thee, a humble trust in Thy 
mercy, and suffer not our heart to fail us. 
Though our sins be seven, though our sins be 
seventy times seven, though our sins be more in 
number than the hairs of our head, yet give us 
grace in loving penitence to cast ourselves down 
into the depth of Thy compassion. Let us fall 
into the hand of the Lord. Amen. 

C. G. Rossetti. 



2i4 August I 



Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry : for anger 
resteth in the bosom of fools. — Eccles. vii. 9. 

Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. — 
Eph. iv. 26. 

Quench thou the fires of hate and strife, 
The wasting fever of the heart j 

From perils guard our feeble life, 

And to our souls Thy peace impart. 

J. H. Newman, Tr. from Latin. 

WHEN thou art offended or annoyed by 
others, suffer not thy thoughts to dwell 
thereon, or on anything relating to them. 
For example, " that they ought not so to have 
treated thee; who they are, or whom they think 
themselves to be ; 99 or the like ; for all this is 
fuel and kindling of wrath, anger, and hatred. 

L. Scupoli. 



Struggle diligently against your impatience, 
and strive to be amiable and gentle, in season 
and out of season, towards every one, however 
much they may vex and annoy you, and be sure 
God will bless your efforts. 

St. Francis de Sales. 



August 2 215 



Behold, God is my salvation ; I will trust, and 
not be afraid : for the Lord Jehovah is my strength 
and my song ; He also is become my salvation. — 
Isa. xii. 2. 

Why are ye so fearful ? How is it that ye 
have no faith? — Mark iv. 40. 

.Still heavy is thy heart ? 

Still sink thy spirits down ? 
Cast off the weight, let fear depart, 

And every care be gone. 

P. Gerhardt. 

GO on in all simplicity ; do not be so anx- 
ious to win a quiet mind, and it will be 
all the quieter. Do not examine so 
closely into the progress of your soul. Do not 
crave so much to be perfect, but let your spirit- 
ual life be formed by your duties, and by the 
actions which are called forth by circumstances. 
Do not take overmuch thought for to-morrow. 
God, who has led you safely on so far, will lead 
you on to the end. Be altogether at rest in the 
loving holy confidence which you ought to have 
in His heavenly Providence. 

St. Francis de Sales. 



2l6 



August 3 



Thou hast made him exceeding glad with Thy 
countenance. — Ps. xxi. 6. 

My heart for gladness springs, 

It cannot more be sad, 
For very joy it laughs and sings, 

Sees nought but sunshine glad. 

P. Gerhardt. 

ANEW day rose upon me. It was as if 
another sun had risen into the sky ; the 
heavens were indescribably brighter, and 
the earth fairer ; and that day has gone on bright- 
ening to the present hour. I have known the 
other joys of life, I suppose, as much as most 
men ; I have known art and beauty, music and 
gladness ; I have known friendship and love and 
family ties ; but it is certain that till we see God 
in the world — God in the bright and boundless 
universe — we never know the highest joy. It 
is far more than if one were translated to a world 
a thousand times fairer than this ; for that 
supreme and central Light of Infinite Love and 
Wisdom, shining over this world and all worlds, 
alone can show us how noble and beautiful, how 
fair and glorious they are. Orville Dewey. 

When I look like this into the blue sky, it 
seems so deep, so peaceful, so full of a mys- 
terious tenderness, that I could lie for centuries 
and wait for the dawning of the face of God out 
of the awful loving-kindness. G. Macdonald. 



August 4 



217 



He satisfieth the longing soul, and the hungry 
soul He filleth with good. — Ps. cvii. 9 (R. V.). 

That ye might be filled with all the fulness of 
God. — Eph. iii. 19. 

Enough that He who made can fill the soul 
Here and hereafter till its deeps overflow 5 

Enough that love and tenderness control 
Our fate where'er in joy or doubt we go. 

Anon. 

OGOD, the Life of the Faithful, the Bliss 
of the righteous, mercifully receive the 
prayers of Thy suppliants, that the souls 
which thirst for Thy promises may evermore be 
filled from Thy abundance. Amen. 

Gelasian Sacramentary, a. d. 490. 

God makes every common thing serve, if 
thou wilt, to enlarge that capacity of bliss in 
His love. Not a prayer, not an act of faithful- 
ness in your calling, not a self-denying or kind 
word or deed, done out of love for Himself; 
not a weariness or painfulness endured pa- 
tiently ; not a duty performed ; not a temptation 
resisted ; but it enlarges the whole soul for the 
endless capacity of the love of God. 

E. B. Pusey. 



2i 8 August 5 



O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, 
giving thanks unto Him that hath called you to the 
heavenly kingdom. — 2 Esdras ii. 37. 

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.— 
2 Cor. ix. 15. 

O Giver of each perfect gift ! 
This day our daily bread supply 5 
While from the Spirit's tranquil depths 
We drink unfailing draughts of joy. 

Lyra Catholica. 

THE best way for a man rightly to enjoy 
himself, is to maintain a universal, ready, 
and cheerful compliance with the divine 
and uncreated Will in all things; as knowing 
that nothing can issue and flow forth from the 
fountain of goodness but that which is good; 
and therefore a good man is never offended with 
any piece of divine dispensation, nor hath he 
any reluctancy against that Will that dictates 
and determines all things by an eternal rule of 
goodness; as knowing that there is an unbounded 
and almighty Love that, without any disdain or 
envy, freely communicates itself to everything 
He made; that always enfolds those in His 
everlasting arms who are made partakers of His 
own image, perpetually nourishing and cherish- 
ing them with the fresh* and vital influences of 
His grace. 

Dr. John Smith. 



August 6 219 



Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all 
His benefits. — Ps. ciii. 2. 

Wiser it were to welcome and make ours 
Whate'er of good, though small, the Present brings, — 
Kind greetings, sunshine, song of birds, and flowers, 
With a child's pure delight in little things. 

R. C. Trench. 

INTO all our lives, in many simple, familiar, 
homely ways, God infuses this element of 
joy from the surprises of life, which unex- 
pectedly brighten our days, and fill our eyes 
with light. He drops this added sweetness into 
His children's cup, and makes it to run over. 
The success we were not counting on, the 
blessing we were not trying after, the strain of 
music, in the midst of drudgery, the beautiful 
morning picture or sunset glory thrown in as 
we pass to or from our daily business, the un- 
sought word of encouragement or expression of 
sympathy, the sentence that meant for us more 
than the writer or speaker thought, — these and 
a hundred others that every one's experience 
can supply are instances of what I mean. You 
may call it accident or chance — it often is ; 
you may call it human goodness — it often is ; 
but always, always call it God's love, for that is 
always in it. These are the overflowing riches 
of His grace, these are His free gifts. 

S. Longfellow. 



220 



August 7 



If thou canst believe, all things are possible to 
him that believeth. — Mark ix. 23. 

Nothing shall be impossible unto you. — Matt. 
xvii. 20. 

So nigh is grandeur to our dust, 

So near is God to man, 
When Duty whispers low, Thou must, 

The youth replies, / can. 

R. W. Emerson. 

KNOW that " impossible," where truth and 
mercy and the everlasting voice of nature 
order, has no place in the brave man's 
dictionary. That when all men have said " Im- 
possible," and tumbled noisily elsewhither, and 
thou alone art left, then first thy time and pos- 
sibility have come. It is for thee now : do thou 
that, and ask no man's counsel, but thy own 
only and God's. Brother, thou hast possibility 
in thee for much : the possibility of writing on 
the eternal skies the record of a heroic life. 

T. Carlyle. 

In the moral world there is nothing impos- 
sible, if we bring a thorough will to it. Man 
can do everything with himself ; but he must 
not attempt to do too much with others. 

Wm. von Humboldt. 



AugUSt 8 221 



Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith 
Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled 
again with the yoke of bondage. — Gal. v. I. 

I believed, and therefore have I spoken. — 2 Cor. 
iv. 13. 

They are slaves who fear to speak 

For the fallen and the weak 5 

They are slaves who will not choose 

Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, 

Rather than in silence shrink 

From the truth they needs must think 5 

They are slaves who dare not be 

In the right with two or three. 

J. R. Lowell. 

THE real corrupters of society may be, not 
the corrupt, but those who have held 
back the righteous leaven, the salt that 
has lost its savor, the innocent who have not 
even the moral courage to show what they think 
of the effrontery of impurity, — the serious, who 
yet timidly succumb before some loud-voiced 
scoffer, — the heart trembling all over with 
religious sensibilities that yet suffers itself through 
false shame to be beaten down into outward 
and practical acquiescence by some rude and 
worldly nature. 

J. H. Thom. 



222 AugUSt 9 

The things which are impossible with men are 
possible with God. — Luke xviii, 27. 

Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had 
almost dwelt in silence. — Ps. xciv. 17. 

When obstacles and trials seem 

Like prison-walls to be, 
I do the little I can do, 

And leave the rest to Thee. 

F. W. Faber. 

THE mind never puts forth greater power 
over itself than when, in great trials, it 
yields up calmly its desires, affections, 
interests to God. There are seasons when to 
be still demands immeasurably higher strength 
than to act. Composure is often the highest 
result of power. Think you it demands no 
power to calm the stormy elements of passion, 
to moderate the vehemence of desire, to throw 
off the load of dejection, to suppress every re- 
pining thought, when the dearest hopes are 
withered, and to turn the wounded spirit from 
dangerous reveries and wasting grief, to the 
quiet discharge of ordinary duties ? Is there no 
power put forth, when a man, stripped ot his 
property, of the fruits of a life's labors, quells 
discontent and gloomy forebodings, and serenely 
and patiently returns to the tasks which Provi- 
dence assigns ? 

Wm. E. Chaxnixg. 



August 10 223 



The cup which my Father has given me, shall I 
not drink it ? — John xviii. 1 1. 

Whatsoever is brought upon thee, take cheerfully. 

ECCLESIASTICUS ii. 4. 



Every sorrow, every smart, 
That the Eternal Father's heart 
Hath appointed me of yore, 
Or hath yet for me in store, 
As my life flows on, I '11 take 
Calmly, gladly, for His sake, 
No more faithless murmurs make 

P. Gerhardt. 

THE very least and the very greatest sorrows 
that God ever suffers to befall thee, pro- 
ceed from the depths of His unspeakable 
love \ and such great love were better for thee 
than the highest and best gifts besides that He 
has given thee, or ever could give thee, if thou 
couldst but see it in this light. So that if your 
little finger only aches, if you are cold, if you 
are hungry or thirsty, if others vex you by their 
words or deeds, or whatever happens to you 
that causes you distress or pain, it will all help 
to fit you for a noble and blessed state. 

, . J. Tauler. 



August ii 



The Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy 
works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand 
un t 0% — Deut. XV. 10. 



My place of lowly service, too, 

Beneath Thy sheltering wings I see ; 

For all the work I have to do 

Is done through strengthening rest in Thee. 

A. L. Waring. 



I THINK I find most help in trying to look 
on all interruptions and hindrances to work 
that one has planned out for oneself as dis- 
cipline, trials sent by God to help one against 
getting selfish over one's work. Then one can 
feel that perhaps one's true work — one's work 
for God — consists in doing some trifling hap- 
hazard thing that has been thrown into one's 
day. It is not waste of time, as one is tempted 
to think, it is the most important part of the 
work of the day, — the part one can best offer 
to God. After' such a hindrance, do not rush 
after the planned work; trust that the time to 
finish it will be given sometime, and keep a 
quiet heart about it. 

n Annie Keary. 



August 12 225 



Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ? 
— Luke x. 25. 

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with 
thy might. — Eccles. ix. 10. 



" What shall I do to gain eternal life ? " 
" Discharge aright 
The simple dues with which each day is rife, 
Yea, with thy might. " 

F. von Schiller. 

A MAN is relieved and gay when he has 
put his heart into his work, and done his 
best ; but what he has said or done other- 
wise, shall give him no peace. 

R. W. Emerson. 

Be diligent, after thy power, to do deeds of 
love. Think nothing too little, nothing too low, 
to do lovingly for the sake of God. Bear with 
infirmities, ungentle tempers, contradictions; 
visit, if thou mayest, the sick ; relieve the 
poor; forego thyself and thine own ways for 
love; and He whom in them thou lovest, to 
whom in them thou ministerest, will own thy 
love, and will pour His own love into thee. 

E. B. Pusey. 

J 5 



2a6 August 13 



In your patience possess ye your souls. — Luke 
xxi. 19. 

What though thy way be dark, and earth 
With ceaseless care do cark, till mirth 

To thee no sweet strain singeth ; 
Still hide thy life above, and still 
Believe that God is love ; fulfil 

Whatever lot He bringeth. 

Albert E. Evans- 



THE soul loses command of itself when it 
is impatient. Whereas, when it submits 
without a murmur it possesses itself in 
peace, and possesses God. To be impatient, 
is to desire what we have not, or not ^ to desire 
what we have. When we acquiesce in an evil, 
it is no longer such. Why make a real calam- 
ity of it by resistance ? Peace does not dwell 
in outward things, but within the soul We 
may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest 
pain, if our will remains firm and submis- 
sive. Peace in this life springs from acquies- 
cence even in disagreeable things, not in an 
exemption from bearing them. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

The chief pang of most trials is not so much 
the actual suffering itself, as our own spirit of 
resistance to it. 

Jean Nicolas Grou. 



August 14 227 



/ will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from 
whence cometh my help. — Ps. cxxi. I. 

My grace is sufficient for thee. — 2 Cor. xii. 9. 

I look to Thee in every need, 

And never look in vain 5 
I feel Thy touch, Eternal Love, 

And all is well again : 
The thought of Thee is mightier far 
Than sin and pain and sorrow are. 

S. Longfellow. 

HOW can you live sweetly amid the vexa- 
tious things, the irritating things, the 
multitude of little worries and frets, 
which lie all along your way, and which you can- 
not evade ? You cannot at present change your 
surroundings. Whatever kind of life you are to 
live, must be lived amid precisely the experiences 
in which you are now moving. Here you must 
win your victories or suffer your defeats. No 
restlessness or discontent can change your lot. 
Others may have other circumstances surround- 
ing them, but here are yours. You had better 
make up your mind to accept what you cannot 
alter. You can live a beautiful life in the midst 
of your present circumstances. J. R. Miller. 

Strive to realize a state of inward happiness, 
independent of circumstances. J. P. Greaves. 



228 August 15 



God hath not given us the spirit of fear ; but 
of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. — 
2 Tim. i. 7. 

We cast behind fear, sin, and death ; 

With Thee we seek the things above ; 
Our inmost souls Thy spirit breathe, 

Of power, of calmness, and of love. 

Hymns of the Spirit. 

I MUST conclude with a more delightful sub- 
j ect , — m y most dear and blessed sister. I 
never saw a more perfect instance of the 
spirit of power and of love, and of a sound 
mind ; intense love, almost to the annihilation 
of selfishness — a daily martyrdom for twenty 
years, during which she adhered to her early- 
formed resolution of never talking about herself ; 
thoughtful about the very pins and ribands of 
my wife's dress, about the making of a doll's cap 
for a child, — but of herself, save only as re- 
garded her ripening in all goodness, wholly 
thoughtless ; enjoying everything lovely, grace- 
ful, beautiful, high-minded, whether in God's 
works or man's, with the keenest relish; inherit- 
ing the earth to the very fulness of the promise, 
though never leaving her crib, nor changing her 
posture; and preserved through the very valley 
of the shadow of death, from all fear or im- 
patience, or from every cloud of impaired 
reason, which might mar the beauty of Christ's 
spirit's glorious work. Thomas Arnold. 



August 16 229 



Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also 
reap. — Gal. vi. 7. 

The life above, when this is past, 
Is the ripe fruit of life below. 

Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure 5 
Sow peace, and reap its harvest bright ; 

Sow sunbeams on the rock and moor, 
And find a harvest-home of light. 

H. BONAR. 



THE dispositions, affections, inclinations of 
soul, which shall issue hereafter in per- 
fection, must be trained and nurtured in 
us throughout the whole course of this earthly 
life. When shall we bear in mind this plain 
truth, that the future perfection of the saints is 
not a translation from one state or disposition of 
soul into another, diverse from the former; but 
the carrying out, and, as it were, the blossom 
and the fruitage of one and the same principle 
of spiritual life, which, through their whole 
career on earth, has been growing with an even 
strength, putting itself forth in the beginnings 
and promise of perfection, reaching upward 
with steadfast aspirations after perfect holiness ? 

H. E. Manning. 



23 o August 17 

O turn unto me, and have mercy upon ?ne ; give 
Thy strength unto Thy servant, and save the son 
of Thy handmaid.—?*, lxxxvi. 16. 



Thou art my King — 
My King henceforth alone ; 
And I, Thy servant, Lord, am all Thine own. 
Give me Thy strength ; oh ! let Thy dwelling be 
In this poor heart that pants, my Lord, for 1 nee . 

TrDCTrrr 



G. Tersteegen. 



W 



"HEN it is the one ruling, never-ceasing 
desire of our hearts, that God may be 
the beginning and end, the reason and 
motive, the rule and measure, of our doing or 
not doing, from morning to night ; then every- 
where, whether speaking or silent, whether in- 
wardly or outwardlv employed, we are equally 
offered up to the eternal Spirit, have our life in 
Him and from Him, and are united to Him by 
that Spirit of Praver which is the comfort, the 
support, the strength and security of the soul, 
trav elling, by the help of God, through the van- 
ity of time into the riches of eternity. Let us 
have no thought or care, but how to be wholly 
His devoted instruments ; everywhere, and in 
everything, His adoring, joyful, and thankful 

servantS - Wm. Law. 



August 1 8 231 



Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have 
we confidence toward God, — 1 John iii. 21. 

O Lord, how happy is the time 

When in Thy love I rest : 
When from my weariness I climb 

E'en to Thy tender breast. 
The night of sorrow endeth there, 

Thy rays outshine the sun 5 
And in Thy pardon and Thy care 

The heaven of heavens is won. 

W. C. Dessler. 



NOTHING doth so much establish the 
mind amidst the rollings and turbulency 
of present things, as both a look above 
them, and a look beyond them ; above them to 
the good and steady Hand by which they are 
ruled, and beyond them to the sweet and beauti- 
ful end to which, by that Hand, they shall be 
brought. Study pure and holy walking, if you 
would have your confidence firm, and have bold- 
ness and joy in God. You will find that a little 
sin will shake your trust and disturb your peace 
more than the greatest sufferings : yea, in those 
sufferings, your assurance and joy in God will 
grow and abound most if sin be kept out. So 
much sin as gets in, so much peace will go out. 

R. Leighton. 



232 August 19 



Teach me Thy way, 0 Lord, and lead me in a 
plain path. — Ps. xxvii. II. 

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, 

Lead Thou me on ; 
The night is dark, and I am far from home, 

Lead Thou me on. 
Keep Thou my feet 5 I do not ask to see 
The distant scene ; one step enough for me. 

J. H. Newman. 

GOD only is holy ; He alone knows how 
to lead His children in the paths of holi- 
ness. He knows every aspect of your 
soul, everv thought of your heart, every secret 
of your character, its difficulties and hindrances ; 
He knows how to mould you to His will, and 
lead you onwards to perfect sanctification ; He 
knows exactlv how each event, each trial, each 
temptation, will tell upon you, and He disposes 
all things accordingly. The consequences of 
this belief, if fully gr as P ed > will influence your 
whole life. You will seek to give yourself up 
to God more and more unreservedly, asking 
nothing, refusing nothing, wishing nothing, but 
what He wills; not seeking to bring things 
about for vourself, taking all He sends joyfully, 
and believing the " one step " set before you to 
be enough for you. You will be satisfied that 
even though there are clouds around, and your 
way seems dark, He is directing all, and that 
what seems a hindrance will prove a blessing, 
since He wills it. Jean Nicolas Grou. 



August 20 233 



Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He 
shall strengthen thine heart : wait, I say, on the 
Lord. — Ps. xxvii. 14. 

He giveth power to the faint ; and to them that 
have no might He increaseth strength. — Isa. xl. 29. 

Leaning on Him, make with reverent meekness 

His own thy will, 
And with strength from Him shall thy utter weakness 

Life 1 s task fulfil. 

J. G. Whittier. 

SHOULD we feel at times disheartened and 
discouraged, a confiding thought, a simple 
movement of heart towards God will re- 
new our powers. Whatever He may demand 
of us, He will give us at the moment the strength 
and the courage that we need. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

We require a certain firmness in all circum- 
stances of life, even the happiest, and perhaps 
contradictions come in order to prove and exer- 
cise this ; and, if we can only determine so to 
use them, the very effort brings back tranquillity 
to the soul, which always enjoys having exercised 
its strength in conformity to duty. 

Wm. von Humboldt. 



August 21 



We then that are strong ought to bear the in- 
firmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. — 
Rom. xv. i. 

The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the 
learned, that I should know how to speak a word 
in season to him that is weary. — Isa. 1. 4. 

If there be some weaker one, 
Give me strength to help him on ; 
If a blinder soul there be, 
Let me guide him nearer Thee. 

J. G. Whittier. 

ASK Him to increase your powers of sym- 
pathy : to give you more quickness and 
depth of sympathy, in little things as well 
as great. Opportunities of doing a kindness 
are often lost from mere want of thought. 
Half a dozen lines of kindness may bring sun- 
shine into the whole day of some sick person. 
Think of the pleasure you might give to some 
one who is much shut up, and who has fewer 
pleasures than you have, by sharing with her 
some little comfort or enjoyment that you have 
learnt to look upon as a necessary of life, — the 
pleasant drive, the new book, flowers from the 
country, etc. Try to put yourself in another's 
place. Ask "What should I like myself, if I 
were hard-worked, or sick, or lonely ? " Culti- 
vate the habit of sympathy. 

G. H. Wilkinson. 



AugUSt 22 



235 



/ beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies 
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable 
service, — Rom. xii. 1. 

Thou hast my flesh, Thy hallowed shrine, 

Devoted solely to Thy will 5 
Here let Thy light forever shine, 

This house still let Thy presence fill ; 
O Source of Life, live, dwell, and move 
In me, till all my life be love ! 

Joachim Lange. 

MAY it not be a comfort to those of us 
who feel we have not the mental or 
spiritual power that others have, to 
notice that the living sacrifice mentioned in 
Rom. xii. 1, is our "bodies " ? Of course, that 
includes the mental power, but does it not also 
include the loving, sympathizing glance, the 
kind, encouraging word, the ready errand for 
another, the work of our hands, opportunities for 
all of which come oftener in the day than for 
the mental power we are often tempted to envy? 
May we be enabled to offer willingly that which 
we have, 

Anon. 



236 August 23 



Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them 
not. — Jer. xlv. 5 

I would not have the restless will 

That hurries to and fro, 
-Seeking for some great thing to do, 

Or secret thing to know 5 
I would be treated as a child, 

And guided where I go. 

A. L. Waring. 

OH ! be little, be little ; and then thou wilt 
be content with little ; and if thou feel, 
now and then, a check or a secret smit- 
ing, — in that is the Father's love ; be not over- 
wise, nor over-eager, in thy own willing, running, 
and desiring, and thou mayest feel it so ; and by 
degrees come to the knowledge of thy Guide, 
who will lead thee, step by step, in the path of 
life, and teach thee to follow. Be still, and 
wait for light and strength. 

I. Penington. 

Sink into the sweet and blessed littleness, 
where thou livest by grace alone. Contemplate 
with delight the holiness and goodness in God, 
which thou dost not find in thyself. How 
lovely it is to be nothing when God is all ! 

G. Tersteegen. 



August 24 237 



And that which fell among thorns are they, 
which, when they have heard, go forth, and are 
choked with cares, and riches and pleasures of this 
life, and bring no fruit to perfection. — Luke 
viii. 14. 

Preserve me from my calling's snare, 
And hide my simple heart above, 

Above the thorns of choking care, 
The gilded baits of worldly love. 

C. Wesley. 

ANYTHING allowed in the heart which 
is contrary to the will of God, let it seem 
ever so insignificant, or be ever so deeply 
hidden, will cause us to fall before our enemies. 
Any root of bitterness cherished towards another, 
any self-seeking, any harsh judgments indulged 
in, any slackness in obeying the voice of the 
Lord, any doubtful habits or surroundings, any 
one of these things will effectually cripple and 
paralyze our spiritual life. I believe our blessed 
Guide, the indwelling Holy Spirit, is always 
secretly discovering these things to us by con- 
tinual little twinges and pangs of conscience, so 
that we are left without excuse. 

H. W. Smith. 



238 August 25 



See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. — 
Heb. xii. 25. 

From the world of sin and noise 

And hurry I withdraw ; 
For the small and inward voice 

I wait with humble awe 5 
Silent am I now and still, 

Dare not in Thy presence move ; 
To my waiting soul reveal 

The secret of Thy love. 

C. Wesley. 

WHEN therefore the smallest instinct or 
desire of thy heart calleth thee towards 
God, and a'newness of life, give it time 
and leave to speak ; and take care thou refuse 
not Him that speaketh. Be retired, silent, pas- 
sive, and humbly attentive to this new risen light 
within thee. 

Wm. Law. 

It is hardly to be wondered at that he should 
lose the finer consciousness of higher powers and 
deeper feelings, not from any behavior in itself 
wrong, but from the hurry, noise, and tumult in 
the streets of life, that, penetrating too deep into 
the house of life, dazed and stupefied the silent 
and lonely watcher in the chamber of conscience, 
far apart. He had no time to think or feel. 

G. Macdonald. 



August 26 



239 



Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord. — Zech. 
ii. 13. 

Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn ; 

Let noise and vanity be gone : 

In secret silence of the mind, 

My heaven, and there my God, I find. 

I. Watts. 

IT is only with the pious affection of the will 
that we can be spiritually attentive to God. 
As long as the noisy restlessness of the 
thoughts goes on, the gentle and holy desires of 
the new nature are overpowered and inactive. 

J. P. Greaves. 

There is hardly ever a complete silence in 
our soul. God is whispering to us wellnigh in- 
cessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world 
die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear 
these whisperings of God. He is always whis- 
pering to us, only we do not always hear, be- 
cause of the noise, hurry, and distraction which 
life causes as it rushes on. F. W. Faber. 

The prayer of faith is a sincere, sweet, and 
quiet view of divine, eternal truth. The soul 
rests quiet, perceiving and loving God ; sweetly 
rejecting all the imaginations that present them- 
selves, calming the mind in the Divine presence, 
and fixing it only on God. M. de Molinos. 



240 August 27 



Being confident of this very thing, that He which 
hath begun a good work in you will perform it. — 
Phil. i. 6. 

He that endureth to the end shall be saved. — ■ 
Matt. x. 22. 

Fill with inviolable peace ; 

Stablish and keep my settled heart \ 
In Thee may all my wanderings cease, 

From Thee no more may I depart : 
Thy utmost goodness called to prove, 
Loved with an everlasting love ! C. Wesley. 

IF any sincere Christian cast himself with his 
whole will upon the Divine Presence which 
dwells within him, he shall be kept safe unto 
the end. What is it that makes us unable to 
persevere ? Is it want of strength ? By no 
means. We have with us the strength of the 
Holy Spirit. When did we ever set ourselves 
sincerely to any work according to the will of 
God, and fail for want of strength ? It was not 
that strength failed the will, but that the will 
failed first. If we could but embrace the Divine 
will with the whole love of ours ; cleaving to it, 
and holding fast by it, we should be borne along 
as upon " the river of the water of life." We 
open only certain chambers of our will to the 
influence of the Divine will. We are afraid 
of being wholly absorbed into it. And yet, if 
we would have peace, we must be altogether 
united to Him. H. E. Manning. 



August 28 241 



They that know Thy name will put their trust 
in Thee : for Thou, Lord^ hast not forsaken them 
that seek Thee. — Ps. ix. 10. 

Tea, the Lord shall give that which is good. — 
Ps. lxxxv. 12. 

In Thee I place my trust, 

On Thee I calmly rest 5 
I know Thee good, I know Thee just, 

And count Thy choice the best. 

H. F. Lyte. 

THE souls that would really be richer in 
duty in some new position, are precisely 
those who borrow no excuses from the 
old one ; who even esteem it full of privileges, 
plenteous in occasions of good, frequent in 
divine appeals, which they chide their graceless 
and unloving temper for not heeding more. 
Wretched and barren is the discontent that 
quarrels with its tools instead of with its skill ; 
and, by criticising Providence, manages to keep 
up complacency with self. How gentle should 
we be, if we were not provoked ; how pious, if 
we were not busy ; the sick would be patient, 
only he is not in health ; the obscure would do 
great things, only he is not conspicuous ! 

J. Martineau. 



16 



August 29 



Am I my brother's keeper? — Gen. iv. 9. 

. 

Because I held upon my selfish road, 
And left my brother wounded by the way, 
And called ambition duty, and pressed on — 
O Lord, I do repent. 

Sarah Williams. 

HOW many are the sufferers who have 
fallen amongst misfortunes along the 
wayside of life ! " By chance? we 
come that way; chance, accident, Providence, 
has thrown them in our way ; we see them from 
a distance, like the Priest, or we come upon 
them suddenly, like the Levite ; our business, 
our pleasure, is interrupted by the sight, is 
troubled by the delay ; what are our feelings, 
what our actions towards them? "Who is 
thy neighbor?" It is the sufferer, wherever, 
whoever, whatsoever he be. Wherever thou 
hearest the cry of distress, wherever thou seest 
any one brought across thy path by the chances 
and changes of life (that is, by the Providence 
of God),\vhom it is in thy power to help, — 
he, stranger or enemy though he be, — he is thy 
neighbor. 

A. P. Stanley. 



August 30 243 



Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are 
called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long- 
suffering, forbearing one another in love, — Eph. 
iv. 1, 2. 

Help us, O Lord, with patient love to bear 

Each others faults, to suffer with true meekness ; 

Help us each other's joys and griefs to share, 
But let us turn to Thee alone in weakness. 



OU should make a special point of asking 



all else, that true spirit of meekness which 
He would have His children possess. You 
must also make a firm resolution to practise 
yourself in this virtue, especially in your inter- 
course with those persons to whom you chiefly 
owe it. You must make it your main object to 
conquer yourself in this matter ; call it to mind 
a hundred times during the day, commending 
your efforts to God. It seems to me that no 
more than this is needed in order to subject 
your soul entirely to His will, and then you will 
become more gentle day by day, trusting wholly 
in His goodness. You will be very happy, my 
dearest child, if you can do this, for God will 
dwell in your heart ; and where He reigns all is 
peace. But if you should fail, and commit 
some of your old faults, do not be disheartened, 
but rise up and go on again, as though you had 
not fallen. St. Francis de Sales. 



Anon. 




morning to give you, before 



244 August 31 

Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself^ and 
hear with a good courage that whuh hath he/alien 
thee. — 2 Esdras x. 15- 

Go, bury thy sorrow, 

The world hath its share ; 
Go, bury it deeply, 

Go, hide it with care. 
Go, bury thy sorrow, 

Let others be blest ; 
Go, give them the sunshine, 

And tell God the rest. 



OUR veiled and terrible guest [Troub e] 
brings for us, if we will accept it the 
boon of fortitude, patience, self-contro , 
wisdom, sympathy, faith. If we reject f hat, 
then we find in our hands the other gitt, 
cowardice, weakness, isolation despair If 
your trouble seems to have in it 

words, helpful acts. Q ^ Merriam . 



September i 



Let them that suffer according to the will of God 
commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well- 
doing, as unto a faithful Creator. — i Peter iv. 1 9. 

The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. 
— James v. it. 

On Thy compassion I repose 

In weakness and distress : 
I will not ask for greater ease, 

Lest I should love Thee less ; 
Oh, 'tis a blessed thing for me 

To need Thy tenderness. 

A. L. Waring. 

OH, look not at thy pain or sorrow, how- 
great soever ; but look from them, look 
off them, look beyond them, to the De- 
liverer ! whose power is over them, and whose 
loving, wise, and tender spirit is able to do thee 
good by them. The Lord lead thee, day by 
day, in the right way, and keep thy mind stayed 
upon Him, in whatever befalls thee; that the 
belief of His love and hope in His mercy, when 
thou art at the lowest ebb, may keep up thy 
head above the billows. 

Isaac Penington. 



24 6 September 2 

Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be 
called the children of God. — Matt. v. 6. 

Grant us Thy peace, down from Thy presence falling, 
As on the thirsty earth cool night-dews sweet ; 

Grant us Thy peace, to Thy pure paths recalling, 
From devious ways, our worn and wandering feet. 

E. SCUDDER. 

OGOD, who art Peace everlasting, whose 
chosen reward is the gift of peace, and 
who hast taught us that the peacemakers 
are Thy children, pour Thy sweet peace into 
our souls, that everything discordant may utterly 
vanish, and all that makes for peace be sweet 

to us forever. Amen. 

Gelasian Sacramentary, a. d. 492. 

Have you ever thought seriously of the mean- 
ing of that blessing given to the peacemakers ? 
People are always expecting to get peace in 
heaven ; but you know whatever peace they get 
there will be ready-made. Whatever making of 
peace they can be blest for, must be on the earth 
here : not the taking of arms against, but the 
building of nests amidst, its " sea of troubles 
[like the halcyons]. Difficult enough, you 
think ? Perhaps so, but I do not see that any 
of us try. We complain of the want of many 
things — we want votes, we want liberty,' we 
want amusement, we want 'money. Which of 
us feels or knows that he wants peace ? 

J. RUSKIN. 



September 3 247 



The eyes of all wait upon Thee ; and Thou giv- 
est them their meat in due season, — Ps. cxlv. 15. 

What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee, 
— Ps. lvi. 3. 



Late on me, weeping, did this whisper fall : 

" Dear child, there is no need to weep at all ! 

Why go about to grieve and to despair ? 

Why weep now through thy Future's eyes, and bear 

In vain to-day to-morrow's load of care ? " 

H. S. Sutton. 

THE crosses of the present moment always 
bring their own special grace and conse- 
quent comfort with them ; we see the 
hand of God in them when it is laid upon us. 
But the crosses of anxious foreboding are seen 
out of the dispensation of God ; we see them 
without grace to bear them ; we see them indeed 
through a faithless spirit which banishes grace. 
So, everything in them is bitter and unendur- 
able; all seems dark and helpless. Let us 
throw self aside ; no more self-interest, and then 
God's will, unfolding every moment in every- 
thing, will console us also every moment for all 
that He shall do around us, or within us, for 
our discipline. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 



248 September 4 



His delight is in the law of the Lord. And he 
shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, 
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; his leaf 
also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth 
shall prosper. — Ps. i. 2, 3. 

The wind that blows can never kill 

The tree God plants 5 
It bloweth east ; it bloweth west 5 
The tender leaves have little rest, 
But any wind.that blows is best. 

The tree God plants 
Strikes deeper root, grows higher still, 
Spreads wider boughs, for God's good- will 

Meets all its wants. 

Lillie E. Barr. 

IT is a fatal mistake to suppose that we can- 
not be holy except on the condition of a 
situation and circumstances in life such as 
shall suit ourselves. It is one of the first prin- 
ciples of holiness to leave our times and our 
places, our going out and our coming in, our 
wasted and our goodly heritage entirely with the 
Lord. Here, O Lord, hast Thou placed us, 
and we will glorify Thee here ! 

T. C. Upham. 

It is not by change of circumstances, but by 
fitting our spirits to the circumstances in which 
God has placed us, that we can be reconciled to 
life and duty. F. W. Robertson. 



September 5 



O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. 

Isa. xxxviii. 14. 



Being perplexed, I say, 
Lord, make it right ! 
Night is as day to Thee, 

Darkness is light. 
I am afraid to touch 

Things that involve so much ; 

My trembling hand may shake, 
My skill-less hand may break : 
Thine can make no mistake. 

Anna B. Warner. 



THE many troubles in your household will 
tend to your edification, if you strive to 
bear them all in gentleness, patience, and 
kindness. Keep this ever before you, and re- 
member constantly that God's loving eyes are 
upon you amid all these little worries and vex- 
ations, watching whether you take them as He 
would desire. Offer up all such occasions to 
Him, and if sometimes you are put out, and 
give way to impatience, do not be discouraged, 
but make haste to regain your lost composure. 

St. Francis de Sales. 



250 September 6 



If any man will come after me, let him deny 
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 
— Luke ix. 23. 

There lies thy cross ; beneath it meekly bow ; 

It fits thy stature now ; 
Who scornful pass it with averted eye, 

'T will crush them by and by. . 

J. JvEBLE. 

TO take up the cross of Christ is no great 
action done once for all; it consists in 
the continual practice of small duties 
which are distasteful to us. J- H. Newman. 

On one occasion an intimate friend of his 
was fretting somewhat at not being able to put 
a cross on the grave of a relation, because the 
rest of the family disliked it. " Don t you see, 
he said to her, "that by giving up your own 
way, you will be virtually putting a cross on the 
erave ? You '11 have it in its effect. The one 
is but a stone cross, the other is a true spiritual 
cross » Life of James Hinton. 

I would have you, one by one, ask your- 
selves, Wherein do I take up the cross^ady ^ 

Every morning, receive thine own special 
cross from the hands of thy heavenly Father. 

L, Scupoli. 



September 7 251 



Pure religion and undefiled before God and the 
Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows 
in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted 
from the world. — James i. 27. 



Not to ease and aimless quiet 
Doth that inward answer tend, 

But to works of love and duty 
As our being's end. 

J. G. Whittier. 

IT is surprising how practical duty enriches 
the fancy and the heart, and action clears 
and deepens the affections. Indeed, no one 
can have a true idea of right, until he does it ; 
any genuine reverence for ir, till he has done it 
often and with cost; any peace ineffable in it, 
till he does it always and with alacrity. Does 
any one complain, that the best affections are 
transient visitors with him, and the heavenly 
spirit a stranger to his heart ? Oh, let him not 
go forth, on any strained wing of thought, in 
distant quest of them ; but rather stay at home, 
and set his house in the true order of conscience ; 
and of their own accord the divinest guests will 
enter. 

J. Martineau. 



September 8 



Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with 
thanksgiving. — Col. iv. 2. 

Watch ye, stayed fast in the faith, quit you like 
men, be strong. — I Cor. xvi. 13. 

We kneel how weak, we rise how full of power. 
Why therefore should we do ourselves this wrong, 
Or others — that we are not always strong, 
That we are ever overborne with care, 
That we should ever weak or heartless be, 
Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer, 
And joy and strength and courage are with Thee ? 

R. C. Trench. 



IT is impossible for us to make the duties of 
our lot minister to our sanctiflcation without 
a habit of devout fellowship with God. 
This is the spring of all our life, and the strength 
of it. It is praver, meditation, and converse 
with God, that refreshes, restores, and renews 
the temper of our minds, at all times, under all 
trials, after all conflicts with the world. By 
this contact with the world unseen we receive 
continual accesses of strength. As our day, so 
is our strength. Without this healing and re- 
freshing of spirit, duties grow to be burdens, 
the events of life chafe our temper, employments 
lower the tone of our minds, and we become 
fretful, irritable, and impatient. 

H. E. Manning. 



September 9 253 



This is a faithful saying, and these things I will 
that thou affirm constantly, that they which have 
believed in God might be careful to maintain good 
ivorks. — Titus iii. 8. 

Faith's meanest deed more favor bears 
Where hearts and wills are weighed, 

Than brightest transports, choicest prayers, 
Which bloom their hour and fade. 

J. H. Newman. 

ONE secret act of self-denial, one sacrifice 
of inclination to duty, is worth all the 
mere good thoughts, warm feelings, pas- 
sionate prayers, in which idle people indulge 
themselves. j. H . Newman. 

It is impossible for us to live in fellowship 
with God without holiness in all the duties of 
life. These things act and react on each other. 
Without a diligent and faithful obedience to the 
calls and claims of others upon us, our religious 
profession is simply dead. To disobey con- 
science when it points to relative duties irritates 
the whole temper, and quenches the first begin- 
nings of devotion. We cannot go from strife, 
breaches, and angry words, to God. Selfishness, 
an imperious will, want of sympathy with the 
sufferings and sorrows of other men, neglect of 
charitable offices, suspicions, hard censures of 
those with whom our lot is cast, will miserably 
darken our own hearts, and hide the face of 
God from us. H. E. Manning. 



254 



September 10 



I 



Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and 
my head. — John xiii. 9. 

Take my hands, and let them move 
At the impulse of Thy love. 
Take my feet, and let them be 
Swift and " beautiful" for Thee. 
Take my intellect, and use 
Every power as Thou shalt choose. 

' r F. R. Havergal. 

F a man may attain thereunto, to be unto 
God as his hand is to a man, let him be 
therewith content, and not seek further 
That is to say, let him strive and wrestle with 
all his might to obey God and His command- 
ments so thoroughly at all times, and in all 
things, that in him there be nothing sp.ntual, or 
natural, which opposeth God ; and that his whole 
soul and body, with all their members may 
stand ready and willing for that to which God 
hath created them; as ready and willing as h 
hand is to a man, which is so wholly m his 
power, that in the twinkling of an . eye, he 
moveth and turneth it whither he will. And 
when we find it otherwise with us, we must 
give our whole diligence to amend our state. 
6 Theologia Germanica. 

When the mind thinks nothing, when the 
soul covets nothing, and the body acteth nothing 
that is contrary to the will of God, this is perfect 
sanctification. Anonymous, in an old Bible, 1 599- 



September n 255 



Thy kingdom come. — Matt. vi. 10. 

The kingdom of established peace, 

Which can no more remove ; 
The perfect powers of godliness, 

The omnipotence of love. 

C. Wesley. 

MY child, thou mayest not measure out 
thine offering unto me by what others 
have done or left undone; but be it 
thine to seek out, even to the last moment of 
thine earthly life, what is the utmost height of 
pure devotion to which I have called thine own 
self. Remember that, if thou fall short of this, 
each time thou utterest in prayer the words, 
u Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come," 
thou dost most fearfully condemn thyself, for 
is it not a mockery to ask for that thou wilt not 
seek to promote even unto the uttermost, within 
the narrow compass of thine own heart and 
spirit ? 

The Divine Master. 

If you do not wish for His kingdom, don't 
pray for it. But if you do, you must do more 
than pray for it you must work for it. 

J. Ruskin, 



September 12 



She obeyed not the voice ; she received not correc- 
tion ; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not 
near to her God. — Zeph. iii. 2. 



Oh I let us not this thought allow ; 
The heat, the dust upon our brow, 
Signs of the contest, we may wear 5 
Yet thus we shall appear more fair 

In our Almighty Master's eye, 
Than if in fear to lose the bloom, 
Or ruffle the soul's lightest plume, 

We from the strife should fly. 

R. C. Trench. 



IF God requires anything of us, we have no 
right to draw back under the pretext that we 
are liable to commit some fault in obeying. 
It is better to obey imperfectly than not at all. 
Perhaps you ought to rebuke some one de- 
pendent on vou, but you are silent for fear of 
o-iving way to vehemence ; — or you avoid the 
society of certain persons, because they make 
you cross and impatient. How are you to attain 
self-control, if you shun all occasions of practis- 
ing it? Is not such self-choosing a greater 
fault than those into which you fear to fall ? 
Aim at a steady mind to do right, go wherever 
duty calls you, and believe firmly that God will 
forgive the faults that take our weakness by 
surprise in spite of our sincere desire to please 
Him. 

Jean Nicolas Cjrou. 



September 13 257 



// is good that a man should both hope and quietly 
wait for the salvation of the Lord. — Lam. iii. 26. 

Truly my soul waiteth upon God : from Him 
cometh my salvation. — Ps. lxii. 1. 

Not so in haste, my heart $ 
Have faith in God, and wait ; 

Although He linger long, 
He never comes too late. 

Anon. 

THE true use to be made of all the imper- 
fections of which you are conscious is 
neither to justify, nor to condemn them, 
but to present them before God, conforming 
your will to His, and remaining in peace ; for 
peace is the divine order, in whatever state we 
may be. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

You will find it less easy to uproot faults, 
than to choke them by gaining virtues. Do 
not think of your faults; still less of others' 
faults ; in every person who comes near you 
look for what is good and strong : honor that ; 
rejoice in it ; and, as you can, try to imitate it; 
and your faults will drop off, like dead leaves, 
when their time comes. 

J. Ruskin. 



258 September 14 



Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show 
thee great and mighty things which thou knowest 
not. — Jer. xxxiii. 3. 

And I have also given thee that which thou hast 
not asked. — 1 Kings iii. 13. 

No voice of prayer to Thee can rise, 
But swift as light Thy Love replies ; 
Not always what we ask, indeed, 
But, O most Kind ! what most we need. 

H. M. Kimball. 

IF you have any trial which seems intolerable, 
pray, — pray that it be relieved or changed. 
There is no harm in that. We may pray 
for anything, not wrong in itself, with perfect 
freedom, if we do not pray selfishly. One dis- 
abled from duty by sickness may pray for health, 
that he may do his work ; or one hemmed in 
by internal impediments may pray for utterance, 
that he may serve better the truth and the right. 
Or, if we have a besetting sin, we may pray to 
be delivered from it, in order to serve God and 
man, and not be ourselves Satans to mislead and 
destroy. But the answer to the prayer may be, 
as it was to Paul, not the removal of the thorn, 
but, instead, a growing insight into its meaning 
and value. The voice of God in our soul may 
show us, as we look up to Him, that^ His 
strength is enough to enable us to bear it. 

J. F. Clarke. 



September 15 259 



Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of ? and be 
baptised with the baptism that I am baptized with ? 
— Mark x. 38. 

Whate'er my God ordains is right ; 

Though I the cup must drink 
That bitter seems to my faint heart, 

I will not fear nor shrink. S. Rodigast. 

THE worst part of martyrdom is not the 
last agonizing moment ; it is the wearing, 
daily steadfastness. Men who can make 
up their minds to hold out against the torture of 
an hour have sunk under the weariness and the 
harass of small prolonged vexations. And there 
are many Christians who have the weight of 
some deep, incommunicable grief pressing, cold 
as ice, upon their hearts. To bear that cheer- 
fully and manfully is to be a martyr. There is 
many a Christian bereaved and stricken in the 
best hopes of life. For such a one to say 
quietly, " Father, not as I will, but as Thou 
wilt," is to be a martyr. There is many a 
Christian who feels the irksomeness of the 
duties of life, and feels his spirit revolting from 
them. To get up every morning with the firm 
resolve to find pleasure in those duties, and do 
them well, and finish the work which God has 
given us to do, that is to drink Christ's cup. 
The humblest occupation has in it materials of 
discipline for the highest heaven. 

F. W. Robertson. 



260 September 16 



For the whole world before thee is as a little grain 
of the balance, yea, as a drop of the morning dew 
that falleth down upon the earth. But Thou hast 
mercy upon all For Thou lovest all the things 
that are. — Wisdom of Solomon xi. 22-24. 

Oh ! Source divine, and Life of all, 
The Fount of Being's fearful sea, 

Thy depth would every heart appal, 
That saw not love supreme in Thee. 

J. Sterling. 

HE showed a little thing, the quantity of a 
hazel-nut, lying in the palm of my hand, 
as meseemed, and it was as round as a 
ball. I looked thereon with the eye of my 
understanding, and thought, " What may this 
be?" and it was answered generally thus, " It 
is all that is made." I marvelled how it might 
last; for methought it might suddenly have fallen 
to naught for littleness. And I was* answered 
in my understanding, " It lasteth, and ever shall : 
For God loveth it. And so hath all thing being by 
the Love of God." In this little thing I saw 
three properties. The first is, that God made 
it. The second is, that God loveth it. The 
third is, that God keepeth it. For this is the 
cause which we be not all in ease of heart and 
soul : for we seek here rest in this thing which 
is so little, where no rest is in : and we know 
not our God that is all Mighty, all Wise, and 
all Good, for He is very rest. 

Mother Juliana, 1373. 



September 17 261 



IVbosoever will be great among you, shall be your 
minister : and whosoever of you will be the chief est, 
shall be servant of all. For even the , Son of man 
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and 
to give his life a ransom for many. — Mark x. 
43-45- 

A child's kiss 
Set on thy sighing lips, shall make thee glad 5 
A poor man served by thee, shall make thee rich j 
A sick man helped by thee, shall make thee strong ; 
Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense 
Of service which thou renderest. 

E. B. Browning. 

LET every man lovingly cast all his thoughts 
and cares, and his sins too, as it were, on 
the Will of God. Moreover, if a man, 
while busy in this lofty inward work, were called 
by some duty in the Providence of God to cease 
therefrom, and cook a broth for some sick per- 
son, or any other such service, he should do so 
willingly and with great joy. If I had to for- 
sake such work, and go out to preach or aught 
else, I should go cheerfully, believing not only 
that God would be with me, but that he would 
vouchsafe me it may be even greater grace and 
blessing in that external work undertaken out of 
true love in the service of my neighbor, than I 
should perhaps receive in my season of loftiest 
contemplation. 

John Tauler. 



262 September 18 



All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth 
unto such as keep His covenant and His testimo- 
nies, — Ps. xxv. io. 

Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth, 
Speak peace to my anxious soul, 

And help me to feel that all my ways 
Are under Thy wise control 5 

That He who cares for the lily, 
And heeds the sparrows' fall, ^ 

Shall tenderly lead His loving child : 
For He made and loveth all. 

Anon. 



IT is not by seeking more fertile regions 
where toil is lighter — happier circumstances 
free from difficult complications and trouble- 
some people — but by bringing the high courage 
of a devout soul, clear in principle and aim, to 
bear upon what is given to us, that we brighten 
our inward light, lead something of a true life, 
and introduce the kingdom of heaven into the 
midst of our earthly day. If we cannot work 
out the will of God where God has placed us, 
then why has He placed us there ? 

7 J. H. Thom. 



September 19 263 



Pray for us unto the Lord thy God . . . that 
the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein 
we may walk, and the thing that we may do. — 
Jer. xlii. 2, 3. 

That which I see not, teach Thou me. — Job 
xxxiv. 32. 

O Father, hear ! 
The way is dark, and I would fain discern 
What steps to take, into which path to turn \ 

Oh ! make it clear. 

Christian Intelligencer. 

"XISTE can't choose happiness either for 
1/ V ourselves or for another; we can't 
tell where that will lie. We can 
only choose whether we will indulge ourselves 
in the present moment, or whether we will re- 
nounce that, for the sake of obeying the Divine 
voice within us, — for the sake of being true to 
all the motives that sanctify our lives. I know 
this belief is hard ; it has slipped away from me 
again and again ; but I have felt that if I let it 
go forever, I should have no light through the 
darkness of this life." George Eliot. 

There was a care on my mind so to pass my 
time, that nothing might hinder me from the 
most steady attention to the voice of the true 
Shepherd. John Woolman. 



264 September 20 



Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy pres- 
ence from the pride of man : Thou shalt keep them 
secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. 
— Ps. xxxi. 20. 

The praying spirit breathe, 

The watching power impart, 
From all entanglements beneath 

Call off my anxious heart. 
My feeble mind sustain, 

By worldly thoughts oppressed ; 
Appear, and bid me turn again 

To my eternal rest. 

C. Wesley. 

AS soon as we are with God in faith and in 
love, we are in prayer. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

If you could once make up your mind in the 
fear of God never to undertake more work of 
any sort than you can carry on calmly, quietly, 
without hurry or flurry, and the instant you feel 
yourself growing nervous and like one out of 
breath, would stop and take breath, you would 
find this simple common-sense rule doing for you 
what no prayers or tears could ever accomplish. 

Elizabeth Prentiss. 



September 21 265 



How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God! 
therefore the children of men put their trust under 
the shadow of Thy wings. — Ps. xxxvi. 7. 

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath 
are the everlasting arms. — Deut. xxxiii. 27. 

Within Thy circling arms we lie, 

O God ! in Thy infinity : 
Our souls in quiet shall abide, 

Beset with love on every side. 

Anon. 

THE Everlasting Arms." I think of that 
whenever rest is sweet. How the whole 
earth and the strength of it, that is 
alrnightiness, is beneath every tired creature to 
give it rest ; holding us, always ! No thought 
of God is closer than that. No human tender- 
ness of patience is greater than that which 
gathers in its arms a little child, and holds it, 
heedless of weariness. And He fills the great 
earth, and all upon it, with this unseen force of 
His love, that never forgets or exhausts itself, 
so that everywhere we may lie down in His 
bosom, and be comforted. 

A. D. T. Whitney. 



266 September 22 



The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, 
and in thy heart, that thou may est do it. — Deut. 
xxx. 14. 

But, above all, the victory is most sure 

For him, who, seeking faith by virtue, strives 

To yield entire obedience to the Law 

Of Conscience \ Conscience reverenced and obeyed, 

As God's most intimate presence in the soul, 

And His most perfect image in the world. 

W. Wordsworth. 

WHAT we call Conscience is the voice of 
Divine love in the deep of our being, 
desiring union with our will; and 
which, by attracting the affections inward, in- 
vites them to enter into the harmonious con- 
tentment, and " fulness of joy " w 7 hich attends 
the being joined by u one spirit to the Lord." 

J. P. Greaves. 

I rejoice, that God has bestowed upon you a 
relish and inclination for the inner life. To be 
called to this precious and lofty life is a great 
and undeserved grace of God, to which we 
ought to respond with great faithfulness. God 
invites us to His fellowship of love, and 
wishes to prepare our spirit to be His own 
abode and temple. 

Gerhard Tersteegen. 



September 23 267 



Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy 
paths. — Ps. xxv. 4. 

When we cannot see our way, 
Let us trust and still obey 5 
He who bids us forward go, 
Cannot fail the way to show. 
Though the sea be deep and wide, 
Though a passage seem denied 5 
Fearless let us still proceed, 
Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead. 

Anon. 

THAT which is often asked of God, is not 
so much His will and way, as His ap- 
proval of our way. 

S. F. Smiley. 

There is nothing like the first glance we get 
at duty, before there has been any special plead- 
ing of our affections or inclinations. Duty is 
never uncertain at first. It is only after we 
have got involved in the mazes and sophistries 
of wishing that things were otherwise than they 
are, that it seems indistinct. Considering a 
duty is often only explaining it away. Delib- 
eration, is often only dishonesty. God's guid- 
ance is plain, when we are true. 

F. W. Robertson. 



268 September 24 



When I awake, I am still with Thee, — Ps. 
cxxxix. 18. 

Let the glow of love destroy- 
Cold obedience faintly given ; 
Wake our hearts to strength and joy 
With the flushing eastern heaven. 

C. K. Von Rosen roth. 

WITH his first waking consciousness, he 
can set himself to take a serious, manly 
view of the day before him. He ought 
to know pretty well on what lines his difficultv 
is likely to come, whether in being irritable, or 
domineering, or sharp in his bargains, or self- 
absorbed, or whatever it be ; and now, in this 
quiet hour, he can take a good, full look at his 
enemv, and make up his mind to beat him. It 
is a good time, too, for giving his thoughts a 
range quite beyond himself, — beyond even his 
own moral struggles, — a good time, there in 
the stillness, for going into the realm of other 
lives. His wife, — what needs has she for help, 
for sympathy, that he can meet ? His children, 

how can he make the day sweeter to them? 

This acquaintance, who is having a hard time ; 
this friend, who dropped a word to you yester- 
day that you hardly noticed in your hurry, but 
that comes up to you now, revealing in him 
some finer trait, some deeper hunger, than you 
had guessed before, — now you can think these 
things over. G. S. Merriam. 



September 25 269 



Te shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand 
unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy 
God hath blessed thee.— Deut. xii. 7. 

Sweet is the smile of home $ the mutual look 

When hearts are of each other sure j 
Sweet all the joys that crowd the household nook, 

The haunt of all affections pure. 

J. Keble. 

IS there any tie which absence has loosened, 
or which the wear and tear of every-day 
intercourse, little uncongenialities, uncon- 
fessed misunderstandings, have fretted into the 
heart, until it bears something of the nature of 
a fetter ? Any cup at our home-table whose 
sweetness we have not fully tasted, although it 
might yet make of our daily bread a continual 
feast ? Let us reckon up these treasures while 
they are still ours, in thankfulness to God. 

Elizabeth Charles. 

We ought daily or weekly to dedicate a little 
time to the reckoning up of the virtues of our 
belongings, — wife, children, friends, — con- 
templating them then in a beautiful collection. 
And we should do so now, that we may not 
pardon and love in vain and too late, after the 
beloved one has been taken away from us to a 
better world. 

x Jean Paul Richter. 



September 26 



Yea, though I walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art 
with me ; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. 
— Ps„ xxiii. 4. 



O Will, that wiliest good alone, 

Lead Thou the way, Thou guidest best 5 
A silent child, I follow on, 

And trusting lean upon Thy breast. 
And if in gloom I see Thee not, 

I lean upon Thy love unknown j 
In me Thy blessed will is wrought, 

If I will nothing of my own. 

Gerhard Tersteegen. 



THE devout soul is always safe in every 
state, if it makes everything an occasion 
either of rising up, or falling down into 
the hands of God, and exercising faith, and 
trust, and resignation to Him. The pious soul, 
that eyes only God, that means nothing but 
being His alone, can have no stop put to its 
progress ; light and darkness equally assist him : 
in the light he looks up to God, in the darkness 
he lays hold on God, and so they both do him 
the same good. 

Wm. Law. 



September 27 271 



When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light 
unto me. — Micah vii. 8. 

There be many that say, Who will show us any 
good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy counte- 
nance upon us. — Ps. iv. 6. 

How oft a gleam of glory sent 

Straight through the deepest, darkest night, 
Has filled the soul with heavenly light, 

With holy peace and sweet content. 

Anon. 

SUPPOSE you are bewildered and know not 
what is right nor what is true. Can you 
not cease to regard whether you do or not, 
whether you be bewildered, whether you be 
happy ? Cannot you utterly and perfectly love, 
and rejoice to be in the dark, and gloom-beset, 
because that very thing is the fact of God's 
Infinite Being as it is to you ? Cannot you 
take this trial also into your own heart, and be 
ignorant, not because you are obliged, but be- 
cause that being God's will, it is yours also ? 
Do you not see that a person who truly loves is 
one with the Infinite Being — cannot be un- 
comfortable or unhappy ? It is that which is 
that he wills and desires and holds best of all to 
be. To know God is utterly to sacrifice self. 

James Hinton. 



272 September 28 



My little children, let us not love in word, neither 
in tongue ; but in deed, and in truth. — I John 
iii. 18. 

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers 
only, deceiving your own selves. — James i. 22. 

Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayers, 
Whose loves in higher love endure ; 
What souls possess themselves so pure, 

Or is there blessedness like theirs ? 

A. Tennyson. 

LET every creature have your love. Love, 
with its fruits of meekness, patience, and 
humility, is all that we can wish for to 
ourselves, and our fellow-creatures ; for this is 
to live in God, united to Him, both for time 
and eternity. To desire to communicate good 
to every creature, in the degree we can, and it 
is capable of receiving from us, is a divine 
temper ; for thus God stands unchangeably dis- 
posed towards the whole creation. 

Wm. Law. 

What shall be our reward for loving our 
neighbor as ourselves in this life ? That, when 
we become angels, we shall be enabled to love 
him better than ourselves. 

E. SWEDENBORG. 



September 29 273 



Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see 
God. — Matt. v. 8. 

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without 
which no man shall see the Lord. — Heb. xii. 14. 

Since Thou Thyself dost still display 

Unto the pure in heart, 
Oh, make us children of the day 

To know Thee as Thou art. 
For Thou art light and life and love ; 

And Thy redeemed below 
May see Thee as Thy saints above, 

And know Thee as they know. 

J. Montgomery. 

DOUBT, gloom, impatience, have been 
expelled ; joy has taken their place, the 
hope of heaven and the harmony of a 
pure heart, the triumph of self-mastery, sober 
thoughts, and a contented mind. How can 
charity towards all men fail to follow, being the 
mere affectionateness of innocence and peace? 
Thus the Spirit of God creates in us the sim- 
plicity and warmth of heart which children have, 
nay, rather the perfections of His heavenly hosts, 
high and low being joined together in His mys- 
terious work ; for what are implicit trust, ardent 
love, abiding purity, but the mind both of little 
children and of the adoring seraphim ! 

J. H. Newman. 

18 



September 30 



Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle ? who 
shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh 
uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh 
the truth in his heart. — Ps. xv. I, 2. 



How happy is he born or taught, 

That serveth not another's will, 
Whose armor is his honest thought, 

And simple truth his utmost skill. 

H. Wotton. 



IF thou workest at that which is before thee, 
following right reason, seriously, vigorously, 
calmly, without allowing anything else to 
distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure as 
if thou shouldest be bound to give it back imme- 
diately, — if thou holdest to this, expecting noth- 
ing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy 
present activity according to nature, and with 
heroic truth in' every word and sound which thou 
utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no 
man who is able to prevent this. 

Marcus Antoninus. 



October i 275 



Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the 
Lord, and work : for I am with you, saith the 
Lord of hosts. — Haggai ii. 4, 

Yet the world is Thy field, Thy garden ; 

On earth art Thou still at home. 
When Thou bendest hither Thy hallowing eye, 
My narrow work-room seems vast and high, 
Its dingy ceiling a rainbow-dome, — 
Stand ever thus at my wide-swung door, 

And toil will be toil no more. 

L. Larcom. 

THE situation that has not its duty, its 
ideal, was never yet occupied by man. 
Yes, here, in this poor, miserable, ham- 
pered, despicable Actual, wherein thou even now 
standest, here or nowhere is thy Ideal: work it 
out therefrom ; and working, believe, live, be 
free. Fool! the Ideal is in thyself, the impedi- 
ment too is in thyself : thy condition is but the 
stuff thou art to shape that same Ideal out of : 
what matters whether such stuff be of this sort 
or that, so the form thou givest it be heroic, be 
poetic. O thou that pinest in the imprisonment 
of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for 
a kingdom wherein to rule and create, know 
this of a truth : the thing thou seekest is already 
with thee, " here or nowhere," couldst thou 
only see ! 

T. Carlyle. 



276 October 2 



/ am purposed that my mouth shall not trans- 
gress. — Ps. xvii. 3. 

In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin : 
but he that refraineth his lips is wise. — Prov. 
x. 19. 

Prune thou thy words ; the thoughts control 

That o'er thee swell and throng ; 
They will condense within thy soul, 

And change to purpose strong. 

J. H. Newman. 

FEW men suspect how much mere talk 
fritters away spiritual energy, — that which 
should be spent in action, spends itself in 
words. Hence he who restrains that love of 
talk, lays up a fund of spiritual strength. 

F. W. Robertson. 

Do not flatter yourself that your thoughts are 
under due control, your desires properly regu- 
lated, or your dispositions subject as they should 
be to Christian principle, if your intercourse 
with others consists mainly of frivolous gossip, 
impertinent anecdotes, speculations on the char- 
acter and affairs of your neighbors, the repetition 
of former conversations, or a discussion of the 
current petty scandal of society ; much less, if 
you allow yourself in careless exaggeration on 
all these points, and that grievous inattention to 
exact truth, which is apt to attend the statements 
of those whose conversation is made up of these 
materials. H. Ware, Jr. 



October 3 277 



"Judge not, that ye be not judged, — Matt. vii. I . 

Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy 
brother s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is 
in thine own eye ? — Luke vi. 41. 

Judge not ; the workings of his brain 
And of his heart thou canst not see ; 

What looks to thy dim eyes a stain, 
In God's pure light may only be 

A scar, brought from some well-won field, 

Where thou wouldst only faint and yield. 

Adelaide A. Procter. 

WHEN you behold an aspect for whose 
constant gloom and frown you cannot 
account, whose unvarying cloud exas- 
perates you by its apparent causelessness, be 
sure that there is a canker somewhere, and a 
canker not the less deeply corroding because 
concealed. Charlotte Bronte. 

While we are coldly discussing a man's ca- 
reer,sneering at his mistakes, blaming his rashness, 
and labelling his opinions — " Evangelical and 
narrow," or " Latitudinarian and Pantheistic," 
or " Anglican and supercilious " — that man, in 
his solitude, is perhaps shedding hot tears because 
his sacrifice is a hard one, because strength and 
patience are failing him to speak the difficult 
word, and do the difficult deed. 

George Eliot. 



2 7 8 October 4 



Be strong, and of a good courage ; be not afraid, 
ither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is 
ith thee whithersoever thou goest. — Josh. 1. 9. 



By Thine unerring Spirit led, 

We shall not in the desert stray ; 
We shall not full direction need, 

Nor miss our providential way ; 
As far from danger as from fear, 
While love, almighty love, is near. 

Charles Wesley. 



W 



ATCH your wav then, as a cautious 
traveller ; and don't be gazing at that 
mountain or river in the distance, and 
saying, " How shall I ever get over them ? " but 
keep to the present little inch that is before you, 
and accomplish that in the little moment that 
belongs to it. The mountain and the river can 
only be passed in the same way ; and, when you 
come to them, you will come to the light and 
strength that belong to them. ^ ^ 



Let not future things disturb thee, for thou 
wilt come to them, if it shall be necessary, hav- 
ing with thee the same reason which thou now 
usest for present things. 

Marcus Antoninus. 



October 5 279 



Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be 
strong, fear not. — Isa. xxxv, 4. 



Why shouldst thou fill to-day with sorrow 
About to-morrow, 
My heart ? 
One watches all with care most true, 
Doubt not that He will give thee too 
Thy part. 

Paul Flemming. 



THE crosses which we make for ourselves 
by a restless anxiety as to the future, are 
not crosses which come from God. We 
show want of faith in Him by our false wisdom, 
wishing to forestall His arrangements, and strug- 
gling to supplement His Providence by our own 
providence. The future is not yet ours ; per- 
haps it never will be. If it comes, it may come 
wholly different from what we have foreseen. 
Let us shut our eyes, then, to that which God 
hides from us, and keeps in reserve in the 
treasures of His deep counsels. Let us worship 
without seeing ; let us be silent ; let us abide 
in peace. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 



280 October 6 



/ had fainted, unless I had believed to see the 
goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 
— Ps. xxvii. 13. 



I will surely do thee good. — Gen. xxxii. 12. 



Thou know'st not what is good for thee, 

But God doth know, — 
Let Him thy strong reliance be, 

And rest thee so. 

C. F. Gellert; 



LET us be very careful o.f thinking, on the 
one hand, that we have no work assigned 
us to do, or, on the other hand, that w:hat 
we have assigned to us is not the right thing for 
us. If ever we can sav in our hearts to God, 
in reference to any daily duty, " This is not my 
place ; 1 would choose something dearer ; 1 am 
capable of something higher ; " we are guilty 
not only of rebellion, but of blasphemy. It is 
equivalent to saying, not only, " My heart re- 
volts against Thy commands," but " Thy com- 
mands are unwise; Thine Almighty guidance is 
unskilful; Thine omniscient eye has mistaken 
the capacities of Thy creature ; Thine infinite 
love is indifferent to the welfare of Thy child. >! 

Elizabeth Charles. 



October 7 281 



And because ye are sons, God hath sent the Spirit 
of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 
— Gal. iv. 6. 



O Lord, forgive my sin, 

And deign to put within 
A calm, obedient heart, a patient mind ; 

That I may murmur not, 

Though bitter seem my lot j 
For hearts unthankful can no blessing find. 

M. Rutilius, 1604. 

RESIGNATION to the Divine Will signi- 
fies a cheerful approbation and thankful 
acceptance of everything that comes from 
God. It is not enough patiently to submit, but 
we must thankfully receive and fully approve of 
everything that, by the order of God's provi- 
dence, happens to us. For there is no reason 
why we should be patient, but what is as good 
and as strong a reason why we should be thank- 
ful. Whenever, therefore, you find yourself 
disposed to uneasiness or murmuring at any 
thing that is the effect of God's providence 
over you, you must look upon yourself as deny- 
ing either the wisdom or goodness of God. 

Wm. Law. 



2 g2 October 8 



Ye shall not go out in baste, for the Lord will 
go before you ; and the God of Israel will be your 
rearward.— Isa. Hi. 12. (R. V.). 

He that believeth shall not make haste. — Isa, 
xxviii. 1 6. 

Holy Spirit, Peace divine ! 
Still this restless heart of mine ; 
Speak to calm this tossing sea, 
Staved in Thy tranquillity. 

S. Longfellow. 



I 



N whatever you are called upon to do, en- 
deavor to maintain a calm, collected, and 
prayerful state of mind. Self-recollection 
is of great importance. " It is good for a man 
to quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. 
He who is in what may be called a spiritual 
hurry, or rather who runs without having evi- 
dence of being spiritually sent, makes haste to 

„ T. C. Upham. 

no purpose. 1 • 

There is great fret and worry in always run- 
ning after work ; it is not good intellectually or 
spiritually. Annie Keary " 

Whenever we are outwardly excited we 
should cease to act; but whenever we have a 
message from the spirit within, we should exe- 
cute it with calmness. A fine day may excite 
one to act, but it is much better that we act 
from the calm spirit in any day, be the outward 
what it may. J- P - Greaves ' 



October 9 283 



As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 
- — Josh. xxiv. 15. 

O happy house ! and happy servitude ! 

Where all alike one Master own 5 
Where daily duty, in Thy strength pursued, 

Is never hard or toilsome known 5 
Where each one serves Thee, meek and lowly, 

Whatever Thine appointment be, 
Till common tasks seem great and holy, 

When they are done as unto Thee. 

C. J. P. Spitta. 

AT Dudson there was no rushing after any- 
thing, either worldly or intellectual. It 
was a home of constant activity, issuing 
from, and retiring to, a centre of deep repose. 
There was an earnest application of excellent 
sense to the daily duties of life, to the minutest 
courtesy and kindness, as well as to the real 
interests of others. Everything great and every- 
thing little seemed done in the same spirit, and 
with the same degree of fidelity, because it was 
the will of God ; and that which could not be 
traced to His will was not undertaken at all. 
Nothing at Dudson was esteemed too little to 
be cared for, and nothing too great to be under- 
taken at the command of God ; and for this 
they daily exercised their mental and bodily 
powers on the things around them ; knowing 
that our Lord thoroughly furnishes each of His 
soldiers for his work, and places before each the 
task he has to do. M. A. Schimmelpenninck. 



284 October 10 



Now the Lord of peace Himself^ give you peace 
always by all means. — 2 Thess. iii. 16. 

The Lord will give stre?2gth unto His people ; 
the Lord will bless His people with peace. — Ps. 
xxix. ii. 

In the heart's depths a peace serene and holy ^ 
Abides, and when pain seems to have its will, 

Or we despair, — oh, may that peace rise slowly, 
Stronger than agony, and we be still. 

S. Johnson. 

BUT if a man ought and is willing to lie 
still under God's hand, he must and ought 
also to lie still under all things, whether 
they come from God, himself, or the creatures, 
nothing excepted. And he who would be 
obedient, resigned, and submissive to God, 
must and ought to be also resigned, obedient, 
and submissive to all things, in a spirit of yield- 
ing, and not of resistance; and take them in 
silence, resting on the hidden foundations of 
his soul, and having a secret inward patience, 
that enableth him to take all chances or crosses 
willingly; and, whatever befalleth, neither to 
call for nor desire any redress, or deliverance, 
or resistance, or revenge, but always in a loving, 
sincere humility to cry, « Father, forgive them, 
for they know not what they do ! " 

Theologia Germanica. 



October n 285 



And when the people complained^ it displeased the 
Lord. — Num. xi. 1. 



When thou hast thanked thy God 

For every blessing sent, 
What time will then remain 

For murmurs or lament ? 

R. C. Trench. 

LET him, with a cheerful and thankful spirit, 
yield himself up to suffer whatever God 
shall appoint unto him, and to fulfil, ac- 
cording to his power, by the grace of God, all 
His holy will to the utmost that he can discern 
it, and never complain of his distresses but to 
God alone, with entire and humble resignation, 
praying that he may be strong to endure all his 
sufferings according to the will of God. 

John Tauler. 

He who complains, or thinks he has a right to 
complain, because he is called in God's Provi- 
dence to suffer, has something within him which 
needs to be taken away. A soul whose will is 
lost in God's will, can never do this. Sorrow 
may exist ; but complaint never. 

Catherine Adorna. 



2 86 October 12 



Singing and making melody in your heart to the 
Lord. — Eph. v. 19. 

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. — I 
Peter iii. 15. 

There are in this loud stunning tide 

Of human care and crime, 
With whom the melodies abide 

Of th' everlasting chime ; 
Who carry music in their heart 
Through dusky lane and wrangling mart, 
Plying their daily task with busier feet, 
Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat. 

J. Keble. 

STRIVE to carry thyself with a total resig- 
nation to the Divine Will, that God may 
do with thee and all thine according to His 
heavenly pleasure, reiving on Him as on a kind 
and loving Father. Never recall that intention, 
and though thou be taken up about the affairs 
of the condition wherein God hath placed thee, 
yet thou wilt still be in prayer, in the presence 
of God, and in perpetual acts of resignation. 
« A just man leaves not off to pray unless he 
leaves off to be just." He always prays who 
always does well. The good desire is prayer, 
and if the desire be continued so also is the 

P ra y en M. DE MOLINOS. 



October 13 287 



We desire that every one of you do show the 
same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the 
end, — Heb. vi. 1 1. 

The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and 
keep you from evil — 2 Thess. iii. 3. 

Long though my task may be, 

Cometh the end. 
God 't is that helpeth me, 
His is the work, and He 

New strength will lend. 

Anon. 

SET yourself steadfastly to those duties which 
have the least attractive exterior ; it matters 
not whether God's holy will be fulfilled in 
great or small matters. Be patient with your- 
self and your own failings ; never be in a hurry, 
and do not yield to longings after that which 
is impossible to you. My dear sister, go on 
steadily and quietly ; if our dear Lord means 
you to run, He will " strengthen your heart." 

St. Francis de Sales. 

Always begin by doing that which costs me 
most, unless the easier duty is a pressing one. 
Examine, classify, and determine at night the 
work of the morrow ; arrange things in the 
order of their importance, and act accordingly. 
Dread, above all things, bitterness and irritation. 
Never say, or indirectly recall anything to my 
advantage. Madame Sweichine. 



288 October 14 



He that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own 
soul: all they that hate Me love death. — Prov. 
viii. 36. 

But now being made free from sin, and become 
servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, 
and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin 
is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. — Rom. vi. 22, 23. 

O Sovereign Love, to Thee I cry ! 
Give me Thyself, or else I die ! 
Save me from death ; from hell set free ! 
Death, hell, are but the want of Thee. 
Quickened by Thy imparted flame, 
Saved when possessed of Thee, I am : 
My life, my only heaven Thou art ; 
O mig-ht I feel Thee in my heart ! 

C. Wesley. 

SIN itself is hell, and death, and misery to the 
soul, as being a departure from goodness 
and holiness itself ; I mean from God, in 
conjunction with whom the happiness, and 
blessedness,' and heaven of a soul doth consist. 
Avoid it, therefore, as you would avoid being 
miserable. Samuel Shaw. 

" I could n't live in peace if I put the 
shadow of a wilful sin between myself and God." 

George Eliot. 

Unholy tempers are always unhappy tempers. 

John Wesley. 



October 15 289 



Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that 
I am not able to look up ; therefore my heart faileth 
me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me : O Lord, 
make haste to help me. — Ps. xl. 12, 13. 

Sin shall not have dominion over you. — Rom. 
vi. 14. 

O Thou, to whose all-searching sight 
The darkness shineth as the light ! 
Search, prove my heart ; it pants for Thee : 
Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free ! 

G. Tersteegen. 

YES, this sin which has sent me weary- 
hearted to bed and desperate in heart to 
morning work, that has made my plans 
miscarry until I am a coward, that cuts me off 
from prayer, that robs the sky of blueness and 
the earth of springtime, and the air of freshness, 
and human faces of friendliness, — this blasting 
sin which perhaps has made my bed in hell for 
me so long, — this can be conquered. I do not 
say annihilated, but, better than that, conquered, 
captured and transfigured into a friend : so that 
I at last shall say, " My temptation has become 
my strength ! for to the very fight with it I owe 
my force." 

W. C. Gannett. 

19 



290 October 16 



/ am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, 
and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto 
Thy servant. — Gen. xxxii. 10. 

Some murmur if their sky is clear, 

And wholly bright to view, 
If one small speck of dark appear 

In their great heaven of blue : 
And some with thankful love are filled, 

If but one streak of light, 
One ray of God's good mercy, gild 

The darkness of their night. 

R. C. Trench. 

HABITUAL sufferers are precisely those 
who least frequently doubt the Divine 
benevolence, and whose faith and love 
rise to the serenest cheerfulness. Possessed by 
no idea of a prescriptive right to be happy, their 
blessings are not benumbed by anticipation, but 
come to them fresh and brilliant as the first 
day's morning and evening light to the dwellers 
in' Paradise. With the happy it is their con- 
stant peace that seems to come by nature, and to 
be blunted by its commonness, — and their griefs 
to come from God, sharpened by their sacred 
origin; with the sufferer, it is his pain that 
appears to be a thing of course, and to require 
no explanation, while his relief is reverently 
welcomed as a divine interposition, and, as a 
breath of Heaven, caresses the heart into 
melodies of praise. J. Martixeau. 



October 17 291 



Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings 
and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? 
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice. — I Sam. 
xv. 22. 

Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of 
the Lord, which He will show to you to-day. — 
Ex. xiv. 13. 

The folded hands seem idle : 

If folded at His word, 
"Tis a holy service, trust me, 

In obedience to the Lord. 

Anna Shipton. 

IT is not the multitude of hard duties, it is 
not constraint and contention that advance 
us in our Christian course. On the con- 
trary, it is the yielding of our wills without re- 
striction and without choice, to tread cheerfully 
every day in the path in which Providence leads 
us, to seek nothing, to be discouraged by noth- 
ing, to see our duty in the present moment, to 
trust all else without reserve to the will and 
power of God. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

Godliness is the devotion of the soul to God, 
as to a living person whose will is to be its law, 
whose love is to be its life. It is the habit of 
living before the face of God, and not the simply 
doing certain things. J. B. Brown. 



292 October 18 



Except your righteousness shall exceed the right- 
eousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in 
no case enter into the kingdom of heaven, — Matt. 

V. 20. 

The freedom from all wilful sin, 
The Christian's daily task, — 

Oh these are graces far below 
What longing love would ask ! 

Dole not thy duties out to God. 

F. W. Faber. 

YOU perhaps will say that all people fall 
short of the perfection of the Gospel, and 
therefore you are content with your fail- 
ings. But this is saying nothing to the purpose : 
for the question is not whether Gospel perfec- 
tion can be fully attained, but whether you come 
as near it as a sincere intention and careful dili- 
gence can carry you. Whether you are not in 
a much lower state than you might be if you 
sincerely intended and carefully labored to ad- 
vance yourself in all Christian virtues. 

Wm. Law. 

We know not exactly how low the least 
degree of obedience is, which will bring a man 
to heaven ; but this we are quite sure of, that 
he who aims no higher will be sure to fall short 
even of that, and that he who goes farthest 
beyond it will be most blessed. 

John Keble. 



October ig 293 



Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy 
One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which 
teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the 
way that thou shouldest go. — Isa. xlviii. 17. 

I seek Thy aid, I ask direction, 

Teach me to do what pleaseth Thee ; 

I can bear toil, endure affliction, 
Only Thy leadings let me see. 

Anon. 

OF all paths a man could strike into, there 
is, at any given moment, a best path for 
every man ; a thing which, here and now, 
it were of all things wisest for him to do ; which 
could he but be led or driven to do, he were 
then doing " like a man," as we phrase it. His 
success, in such case, were complete, his felicity 
a maximum. This path, to find this path, and 
walk in it, is the one thing needful for him. 

T. Carlyle. 

Every man has his own vocation. There is 
one direction in which all space is open to him. 
He has faculties silently inviting him thither to 
endless exertion. He is like a ship in a river ; 
he runs against obstructions on every side but 
one ; on that side all obstruction is taken away, 
and he sweeps serenely over a deepening chan- 
nel into an infinite sea. 

R. W. Emerson. 



October 20 



Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 
good. — Rom. xii. 21. 



Come, in this accepted hour ; 

Bring Thy heavenly kingdom 
Fill 11s with Thy glorious power, 

Rooting: out the seeds of sin. 

C. Wesley. 



IF we wish to overcome evil, we must over- 
come it by good. There are doubtless 
many ways of overcoming the evil in our 
own hearts, but the simplest, easiest, most uni- 
versal, is to overcome it by active occupation in 
some good word or work. The best antidote 
against evil of all kinds, against the evil thoughts 
which haunt the soul, against the needless per- 
plexities which distract the conscience, is to 
keep hold of the good we have. Impure 
thoughts will not stand against pure words, and 
prayers, and deeds. Little doubts will not avail 
against great certainties. Fix your affections 
on things above, and then you will be less and 
less troubled by the cares, the temptations, the 
troubles of things on earth. 

A. P. Stanley. 



October 21 295 



/ am the Almighty God; walk before me^ and 
be thou perfect. — Gen. xvii. I. 

Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord. — Ex. 
xxxii. 290 

Take my life, and let it be 
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee. 

Take my moments and my days 5 
Let them flow in ceaseless praise. 

F. R. Havergal. 

I HAVE noticed that wherever there has been 
a faithful following of the Lord in a con- 
secrated soul, several things have inevitably 
followed, sooner or later. Meekness and quiet- 
ness of spirit become in time the characteristics 
of the daily life. A submissive acceptance of 
the will of God as it comes in the hourly events 
of each day ; pliability in the hands of God to do 
or to suffer all the good pleasure of His will ; 
sweetness under provocation ; calmness in the 
midst of turmoil and bustle ; yieldingness to the 
wishes of others, and an insensibility to slights 
and affronts ; absence of worry or anxiety ; de- 
liverance from care and fear; — all these, and 
many similar graces, are invariably found to be 
the natural outward development of that inward 
life which is hid with Christ in God. 

H. W. Smith. 



296 October 22 



Father^ if Thou be willing, remove this cup 
from me : nevertheless not my will, but Thine, - 
be done. — Luke xxii. 42. 

Just as Thou wilt is just what I would will j 

Give me but this, the heart to be content, 

And, if my wish is thwarted, to lie still, 

Waiting till puzzle and till pain are spent, 

And the sweet thing made plain which the Lord meant. 

Susan Coolidge. 

LET your will be one with His will, and be 
glad to be disposed of by Him. He will 
order all things for vou. What can cross 
your will, when it is one with His will, on which 
all creation hangs, round which all things re- 
volve ? Keep your hearts clear of evil thoughts ; 
for as evil choices estrange the will from His 
will, so evil thoughts cloud the soul, and hide 
Him from us. Whatever sets us in oppositioa 
to Him makes our will an intolerable torment. 
So long as we will one thing and He another, 
we go on piercing ourselves through and through 
with a perpetual wound ; and His will advances 
moving on in sanctity and majesty, crushing 
ours into the dust. 

H. E. Manning. 



October 23 297 



Teach me to do Thy will ; for Thou art my God : 
Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of 
uprightness, — Ps. cxliii. 10. 

The battle of our life is won, 

And heaven begun, 
When we can say, " Thy will be done ! " 
But, Lord, until 
These restless hearts in Thy deep love are still. 
We pray Thee, " Teach us how to do Thy will! " 
r J Lucy Larcom. 

a^T-QU are seeking your own will, my daugh- 
| ter. You are seeking some good other 
than the law you are bound to obey. 
But how will you find good ? It is not a thing 
of choice; it is a river that flows from the foot 
of the Invisible Throne, and flows by the path 
of obedience. I say again, man cannot choose 
his duties. You may choose to forsake your 
duties, and choose not to have the sorrow they 
bring. But you will go forth, and what will 
you find, my daughter ? Sorrow without duty 

bitter herbs, and no bread with them." 

George Eliot. 

However dark and profitless, however pain- 
ful and weary, existence may have become, 
life is not done, and our Christian character is 
not won, so long as God has anything left for 
us to suffer, or anything left for us to do. 

F. W. Robertson. 



298 October 24 



The Lord is my strength, and my shield ; my 
heart trusted in Him, and I am helped : therefore 
my heart greatly rejoiceth ; and with my song will 
I praise Him. — Ps. xxviii. 7. 

Well may Thy happy children cease 
From restless wishes, prone to sin. 

And, in Thy own exceeding peace, 
Yield to Thy daily discipline. 

A. L. Waring. 

TALK of hair-cloth shirts, and scourgings, 
and sleeping on ashes, as means of saint- 
ship ! there is no need of them in our 
country. Let a woman once look at her do- 
mestic trials as her hair-cloth, her ashes, her 
scourges, — accept them, — rejoice in them, — 
smile and be quiet, silent, patient, and loving 
under them, — and the convent can teach her 
no more; she is a victorious saint. 

H. B. Stove. 

Perhaps it is a greater energy of Divine 
Providence, which keeps the Christian from day 
to dav, from year to year — praying, hoping, 
running, believing — against all hindrances — 
which maintains him as a living martyr, than 
that which bears him up for an hour in sacrific- 
ing himself at the stake. 

R. Cecil. 



October 25 299 



For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, 
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things 
present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, 
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us 
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our 
Lord. — Rom. viii. 38, 39. 



I know not what the future hath 

Of marvel or surprise, 
Assured alone that life and death 

His mercy underlies. 

J. G. Whittier. 



BE of good faith, my dear Friends, look not 
out at any thing ; fear none of those 
things ye may be exposed to suffer, either 
outwardly or inwardly ; but trust the Lord over 
all, and your life will spring, and grow, and 
refresh you, and ye will learn obedience and 
faithfulness daily more and more, even by your 
exercises and sufferings ; yea, the Lord will 
teach you the very mystery of faith and obedi- 
ence ; the wisdom, power, love, and goodness 
of the Lord ordering every thing for you, and 
ordering your hearts in every thing. 

I. Penington. 



October 26 



Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope. 
— Zech. ix. 12. 

O power to do 5 O baffled will ! 

O prayer and action ! ye are one. 
Who may not strive, may yet fulfil 
The harder task of standing still, 

And good but wished with God is done. 

J. G. W HITTIER. 

THAT God has circumscribed our life may 
add a peculiar element of trial, but often 
it defines our way and cuts off many 
tempting possibilities that perplex the free and 
the strong; whilst it leaves intact the whole 
body of spiritual reality, with the Beatitude 
thereon, " that if w^e know these things, happy 
are we if we do them." We know that God 
orders the lot ; and to meet it with the energies 
it requires and permits, neither more nor less, 

to fill it at every available point with the 

light and action of ' an earnest and spiritually 
inventive mind, though its scene be no wider 
than a sick chamber," and its action narrowed 
to patient suffering, and gentle, cheerful words, 
and all the light it can emit the thankful quiet 
of a trustful "eve, — without chafing as though 
God had misjudged our sphere, and placed us 
wrong, and did not know where we could best 
serve Him, — this is what, in that condition, we 
have to do. J. H. Thom. 



October 27 301 



Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in re- 
proaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses 
for Christ's sake : for when I am weak, then am 
1 strong, — 2 Cor. xii. 10. 

Whate'er God does is well ! 

In patience let us wait ; 

He doth Himself our burdens bear, 

He doth for us take care, 
And He, our God, knows all our weary days. 

Come, give Him praise. 

B. Schmolck. 

N r OTHING else but this seeing God in 
everything will make us loving and 
patient with those who annoy and 
trouble us. They will be to us then only the 
instruments for accomplishing His tender and 
wise purposes towards us, and we shall even 
find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them 
for the blessings they bring us. Nothing else 
will completely put an end to all murmuring or 
rebelling thoughts. H. W. Smith. 

The subjection of the will is accomplished by 
calmly resigning thyself in everything that in- 
ternally or externally vexes thee ; for it is thus 
only that the soul is prepared for the reception 
of divine influences. Prepare the heart like 
clean paper, and the Divine Wisdom will im- 
print on it characters to His own liking. 

M. DE MOLINOS. 



302 October 28 



/ know the thoughts that I think toward you, 
saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, 
to give you an expected end. — Jer. xxix. 1 1. 

Thy thoughts are good, and Thou art kind, 

E'en when we think it not ; 
How many an anxious, faithless mind 

Sits grieving o'er its lot, 
And frets, and pines by day and night, 
As God had lost it out of sight, 

And all its wants forgot. 

P. Gerhardt. 

YOU are never to complain of your birth, 
your training, your employments, your 
hardships ; never to fancy that you could 
be something if only you had a different lot and 
sphere assigned you. God understands His 
own plan, and He knows what you want a 
great deal better than you do. The very things 
that you most deprecate, as fatal limitations or 
obstructions, are probably what you most want. 
What you call hindrances, obstacles, discourage- 
ments, are probably God's opportunities. Bring 
down your soul, or, rather, bring it up to receive 
God's will and do His work, in your lot, in 
your sphere, under your cloud of obscurity, 
against your temptations, and then you shall 
find that your condition is never opposed to 
your good, but really consistent with it. 

H. BUSHNELL. 



October 29 303 



Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver ; 
I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction, ~ — 
Isa. xlviii. 10. 

Be patient, suffering soul ! I hear thy cry. 

The trial fires may glow, but I am nigh. 
I see the silver, and I will refine 
Until My image shall upon it shine. 

Fear not, for I am near, thy help to be j 

Greater than all thy pain, My love for thee. 

H. W. C. 

GOD takes a thousand times more pains 
with us than the artist with his picture, 
by many touches of sorrow, and by 
many colors of circumstance, to bring man into 
the form which is the highest and noblest in 
His sight, if only we received His gifts and 
myrrh in the right spirit. But when the cup 
is put away, and these feelings are stifled or 
unheeded, a greater injury is done to the soul 
than can ever be amended. For no heart canx 
conceive in what surpassing love God giveth us 
this myrrh ; yet this which we ought to receive 
to our soul's good, we suffer to pass by us in 
our sleepy indifference, and nothing comes of 
it. Then we come and complain : u Alas, 
Lord ! I am so dry, and it is so dark within 
me!" I tell thee, dear child, open thy heart to 
the pain, and it will do thee more good than if 
thou wert full of feeling and devoutness. 

J. Tauler. 



304 October 30 



That good thing which was cornmitted unto thee 
keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. — 
2 Tim. i. 14. 

Oh that the Comforter would come ! 

Nor visit as a transient guest, 
But fix in me His constant home, 

And keep possession of my breast : 
And make my soul His loved abode, 
The temple of indwelling God ! 

C. Wesley. 

THY spirit should become, while yet on 
earth, the peaceful throne of the Divine 
Being ; think, then, how quiet, how 
gentle and pure, how reverent, thou shouldst be. 

Gerhard Tersteegen. 

I cannot tell vou how much I love you. 
But that which of all things I have most at 
heart, with regard to you, is the real progress of 
your soul in the divine life. Heaven seems to 
be awakened in you. It is a tender plant. It 
requires stillness, meekness, and the unity of the 
heart, totally given up to the unknown workings 
of the Spirit of God, which will do all its work 
in the calm soul, that has no hunger or desire 
but to escape out of the mire of its earthly life 
into its lost union and life in God. I mention 
this, out of a fear of your giving in to an eager- 
ness about many things, which, though seem- 
ingly innocent, yet divide and weaken the 
workings of the divine life within you. 

Wm. Law. 



October 31 305 



And Enoch walked with God : and he was not ; 
for God took him, — Gen. v. 24. 

Oh for a closer walk with God, 
A calm and heavenly frame 5 

A light to shine upon the road 
That leads me to the Lamb! 

W. Cowper. 

IS it possible for any of us in these modern 
days to so live that we may walk with God ? 
Can we walk with God in the shop, in the 
office, in the household, and on the 'street ? 
When men exasperate us, and work wearies us, 
and the children fret, and the servants annoy, 
and our best-laid plans fall to pieces, and our 
castles in the air are dissipated like bubbles that 
break at a breath, then can we walk with God ? 
That religion which fails us in the every-day 
trials and experiences of life has somewhere in 
it a flaw. It should be more than a plank to 
sustain us in the rushing tide, and land us ex- 
hausted and dripping on the other side. It 
ought, if it come from above, to be always, day 
by day, to our souls as the wings of a bird, bear- 
ing us away from and beyond the impediments 
which seek to hold us down. If the Divine 
Love be a conscious presence, an indwelling 
force with us, it will do this. 

Christian Union. 

20 



306 November i 



Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth 
is named. — Eph. iii. 15. 

One family, we dwell in Him 5 

One church above, beneath ; 
Though now divided by the stream, — 

The narrow stream of death. 

One army of the living God, 

To His command we bow : 
Part of His host has crossed the flood, 

And part is crossing now. 

C. Wesley. 

LET us, then, learn that we can never be 
lonely or forsaken in this life. Shall they 
forget us because they are " made per- 
fect" ? Shall they love us the less because they 
now have power to love us more ? If we forget 
them not, shall they not remember us with God ? 
No trial, then, can isolate us, no sorrow can 
cut us off from the Communion of Saints. 
Kneel down, and you are with them ; lift up 
your eyes, and the heavenly world, high above 
all perturbation, hangs serenely overhead ; only a 
thin veil, it may be, floats between. All whom 
we loved, and all who loved us, whom we still 
love no less, while they love us yet more, are 
ever near, because ever in His presence in whom 
we live and dwell. 

H. E. Manning. 



November 2 307 



Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about 
with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside 
every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset 
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set 
before us. — Heb. xii. I. 

When the powers of hell prevail 

O'er our weakness and unfitness, 
Could we lift the fleshly veil, 

Could we for a moment witness 
Those unnumbered hosts that stand 
Calm and bright on either hand 5 

Oh, what joyful hope would cheer, 

Oh, what faith serene would guide us ! 

Great may be the danger near, 

Greater are the friends beside us. Anon. 

WE are compassed about by a cloud of 
witnesses, whose hearts throb in sym- 
pathy with every effort and struggle, 
and who thrill with joy at every success. How 
should this thought check and rebuke every 
worldly feeling and unworthy purpose, and en- 
shrine us, in the midst of a forgetful and un- 
spiritual world, with an atmosphere of heavenly 
peace ! They have overcome — have risen — 
are crowned, glorified ; but still they remain to 
us, our assistants, our comforters, and in every 
hour of darkness their voice speaks to us : " So 
we grieved, so we struggled, so we fainted, so 
we doubted ; but we have overcome, we have 
obtained, we have seen, we have found, — and 
in our victory behold the certainty of thy own." 

H. B. Stowe. 



308 November 3 



Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man 
truth with his neighbor : for we are members one 
of another. — Eph. iv. 25. 

In conversation be sincere \ 
Keep conscience as the noontide clear 5 
Think how All-seeing God thy ways 
And all thy secret thoughts surveys. 

Thomas Ken. 

THE essence of king is in deception, not 
in words ; a lie may be told by silence, 
by equivocation, by the accent on a syl- 
lable, by a glance of the eye attaching a peculiar 
significance to a sentence ; and all these kinds 
of lies are worse and baser by many degrees than 
a lie plainly worded ; so that no form of blinded 
conscience is so far sunk as that which comforts 
itself for having deceived because the deception 
was by gesture or silence, instead of utterance. 

J. RUSKIN. 

He that is habituated to deceptions and artifi- 
cialities in trifles, will try in vain to be true in 
matters of importance; for truth is a thing of 
habit rather than of will. You cannot in any 
given case by any sudden and single effort will 
to be true, if the habit of your life has been 
insincerity. 

F. W. Robertson. 



November 4 309 



A soft answer turneth away wrath : but griev- 
ous words stir up anger, — Pro v. xv. i, 

Doest thou well to be angry ? — Jonah iv. 4. 

Renew Thine image, Lord, in me, 
Lowly and gentle may I be ; 

No charms but these to Thee are dear 5 
No anger mayst Thou ever find, 
No pride in my unruffled mind, 

But faith, and heaven-born peace be there. 

P. Gerhardt. 

N r EITHER say nor do aught displeasing to 
thy neighbor ; and if thou hast been 
wanting in charity, seek his forgiveness, 
or speak to him with gentleness. Speak always 
with mildness and in a low tone of voice. 

L. Scupoli. 

Injuries hurt not more in the receiving than 
in the remembrance. A small injury shall go 
as it comes ; a great injury may dine or sup with 
me; but none at all shall lodge with me. Why 
should I vex myself because another hath vexed 
me ? Grief for things past that cannot be rem- 
edied, and care for things to come that cannot 
be prevented, may easily hurt, can never benefit 
me. I will therefore commit myself to God in 
both, and enjoy the present. 

Joseph Hall. 



3io November 5 



The temple of God is holy, which temple ye 
are. — i Cor. iii. 17. 

Now shed Thy mighty influence abroad 
On souls that would their Father's image bear ; 
Make us as holy temples of our God, 
Where dwells forever calm, adoring prayer. 

C. J. P. Spitta. 

rX^HIS pearl of eternity is the church or 
temple of God within thee, the conse- 
crated place of divine worship, where 
alone thou canst worship God in spirit and 
in truth. When once thou art well grounded 
in this inward worship, thou wilt have learned 
to live unto God above time and place. For 
every day will be Sunday to thee, and, wherever 
thou goest, thou wilt have a priest, a church, 
and an altar along with thee. For when God 
has all that He should have of thy heart, when 
thou art wholly given up to the obedience of 
the light and spirit of God within thee, to will 
only in His will, to love only in His love, to be 
wise only in His wisdom, then it is that every- 
thing thou dost is as a song of praise, and the 
common business of thy life is a conforming to 
God's will on earth as angels do in heaven. 

Wm. Law. 



November 6 311 



He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him : 
He also will hear their cry, and will save them. — 
Ps. cxlv. 19. 

Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall 
give thee the desires of thine heart. — Ps. xxxvii. 4. 

Though to-day may not fulfil 
All thy hopes, have patience still ; 
For perchance to-morrow's sun 
Sees thy happier days begun. 

P. Gerhardt. 

HIS great desire and delight is God ; and 
by desiring and delighting, he hath Him. 
Delight thou in the Lord, and He shall give 
thee thy heart' s desire, — Himself; and then surely 
thou shalt have all. Any other thing commit it 
to Him, and He shall bring it to pass. 

R. Leighton. 

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly 
from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will 
receive what they have asked and desired, 
although not in the hour or in the measure, or 
the very thing which they ask ; yet they will 
obtain something greater and more glorious than 
they had dared to ask. 

Martin Luther. 



312 November 7 



I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. — 
Acts xxvi. 19. 

The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice 
will we obey. — Josh. xxiv. 24. 

I will shun no toil or woe, 
Where Thou leadest I will go, 

Be my pathway plain or rough ; 
If but every hour may be 
Spent in work that pleases Thee, 

Ah, dear Lord, it is enough ! 

G. Tersteegen. 

ALL these longings and doubts, and this in- 
ward distress, are the voice of the Good 
Shepherd in your heart, seeking to call 
you out of all that is contrary to His will. Oh, 
let me entreat of you not to turn away from 
His gentle pleadings. 

H. W. Smith. 

The fear of man brings a snare. By halting 
in our duty and giving back in the time of trial, 
our hands grow weaker, our ears grow dull as 
to hearing the language of the true Shepherd; 
so that when we look at the way of the right- 
eous, it seems as though it was not for us to 
follow them. 

J. Woolman. 



November 8 313 



Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. — Heb. x. 9. 

Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my 
God. — Ps. cxliii. 10. 

Lo ! I come with joy to do 

The Father's blessed will ; 
Him in outward works pursue, 

And serve His pleasure still. 
Faithful to my Lord's commands, 

I still would choose the better part ; 
Serve with careful Martha's hands, 

And loving Mary's heart. 

C. Wesley. 

A SOUL cannot be regarded as truly sub- 
dued and consecrated in its will, and as 
having passed into union with the Divine 
will, until it has a disposition to do promptly 
and faithfully all that God requires, as well as 
to endure patiently and thankfully all that He 
imposes. T. C. Upham. 

When we have learned to offer up every duty 
connected with our situation in life as a sacrifice 
to God, a settled employment becomes just a 
settled habit of prayer. Thomas Erskine. 

" Do the duty which lies nearest thee" which 
thou knowest to be a duty. Thy second duty 
will already have become clearer. T. Carlyle. 



November g 



Say not thou, I will hide myself from the Lord : 
shall any remember me from above ? I shall not 
be remembered among so many people : for what 
is my soul among such an infinite number of 
creatures ? — Ecclesiasticus xvi. 17. 



N Among so many, can He care ? 
Can special love be everywhere ? 
A myriad homes, — a myriad ways, — 
And God's eye over every place ? 

I asked : my soul bethought of this ; — 
In just that very place of His 
Where He hath put and keepeth you, 
God hath no other thing to do ! 

A. D. T. Whitney. 



/""MVE free and bold play to those instincts 
I J of the heart which believe that the Cre- 
ator must care for the creatures He has 
made, and that the only real effective care for 
them must be that which takes each of them 
into His love, and knowing it separately sur- 
rounds it with His separate sympathy. There 
is not one life which the Life-giver ever loses 
out of His sight; not one which sins so that He 
casts it away ; not one which is not so near to 
Him that whatever touches it touches Him with 
sorrow or with joy. 

Phillips Brooks. 



November 10 315 



In Him we live, and move, and have our being. 
— Acts xvii. 28. 

Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither 
shall I flee from Thy presence ? — Ps. cxxxix. 7. 

Yea ! In Thy life our little lives are ended, 
Into Thy depths our trembling spirits fall ; 

In Thee enfolded, gathered, comprehended, 

As holds the sea her waves — Thou hold'st us all. 

E. Scudder. 

WHERE then is our God ? You say, He 
is everywhere : then show me anywhere 
that you have met Him. You declare 
Him everlasting : then tell me any moment that 
He has been with you. You believe Him ready 
to succor them that are tempted, and to lift those 
that are bowed down : then in what passionate 
hour did you subside into His calm grace ? in 
what sorrow lose yourself in His " more exceed- 
ing " joy ? These are the testing questions by 
which we may learn whether we too have raised 
our altar to an " unknown God " and pay the 
worship of the blind ; or whether we commune 
with Him " in whom we live, and move, and 
have our being." 

J. Martineau. 



3 16 November n 



Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, 
being fruitful in every good work, and increas- 
ing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with 
all might, according to His glorious power, unto 
all patience and longsujfering with joy fulness. — 
Col. i. 10, II. 

To be the thing we seem, 
To do the thing we deem 

Enjoined by duty ; 
To walk in faith, nor dream 
Of questioning God's scheme 

Of truth and beauty. 

An ok. 



TO shape the whole Future is not our prob- 
lem ; but only to shape faithfully a small 
part of it, according to rules already 
known. It is perhaps possible for each of us, 
who will with due earnestness inquire, to ascer- 
tain clearly what he, for his own part, ought to 
do ; this let him, with true heart, do, and con- 
tinue doing. The general issue will, as it has 
always done, rest well with a Higher Intelligence 
than' ours. This day thou knowest ten com- 
manded duties, seest in thy mind ten things 
which should be done for one that thou doest ! 
Do one of them ; this of itself will show thee 
ten others which can and shall be done. 

T. Carlyle. 



November 12 317 



/ must work the works of Him that sent me, 
while it is day : the night cometh, when no man 
can work. — John ix. 4. 

Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task? — 
Ex. v. 14. 

He who intermits 
The appointed task and duties of the day- 
Untunes full oft the pleasures of the day $ 
Checking the finer spirits that refuse 
To flow, when purposes are lightly changed. 

W. Wordsworth. 

BY putting off things beyond their proper 
times, one duty treads upon the heels of 
another, and all duties are felt as irksome 
obligations, — a yoke beneath which we fret and 
lose our peace. In most cases the consequence 
of this is, that we have no time to do the work 
as it ought to be done. It is therefore done 
precipitately, with eagerness, with a greater desire 
simply to get it done, than to do it well, and 
with very little thought of God throughout. 

F. W. Faber. 

Sufficient for each day is the good thereof, 
equally as the evil. We must do at once, and 
with our might, the merciful deed that our hand 
findeth to do, — else it will never be done, for 
the hand will find other tasks, and the arrears 
fall through. And every unconsummated good 
feeling, every unfulfilled purpose that His spirit 
has prompted, shall one day charge us as faith- 
less and recreant before God. J. H. Thom. 



1 8 November 13 



Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, O 
Lord, and teachest him out of Thy law.— Ps. 
xciv. 12. 

Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it. — Jer. 
x. 19. 

Hold in thy murmurs, heaven arraigning ! 

The patient see God's loving face ; 
Who bear their burdens uncomplaining, 

'T is they that win the Father's grace. 

3 Anon. 



DO not run to this and that for comfort 
when you are in trouble, but bear it. Be 
uncomfortably quiet —be uneasily silent 
_be patiently unhappy. J- P- Greaves. 

Hard words will vex; unkindness will pierce ; 
neglect will wound ; threatened evils will make 
the soul quiver; sharp pain or weariness will 
rack the body, or make it restless. But what 
says the Psalmist ? " When my heart is vexed, 
I will complain." To whom ? Not of God, but 
to God. E - B - PuSEY - 

Surely, I have thought, I do not want to 
have a grief which would not be a grief, i teel 
that I shall be able to take up my cross in a 
religious spirit soon, and then it will be all right. 
& r James Hinton. 



November 14 319 



Thou art my servant : I have formed thee ; thou 
art my servant : O Israel, thou shalt not be for- 
gotten of me. — Isa. xliv. 21. 

Oh, give Thy servant patience to be still, 

And bear Thy will ; 
Courage to venture wholly on the arm 

That will not harm 5 
The wisdom that will never let me stray 

Out of my way 5 
The love, that, now afflicting, knoweth best 

When I should rest. 

J. M. Neale. 

SUPPOSING that you were never to be set 
free from such trials, what would you do ? 
You would say to God, " I am Thine - — 
if my trials are acceptable to Thee, give me 
more and more." I have full confidence that 
this is what you would say, and then you would 
not think more of it — at any rate, you would 
not be anxious. Well, do the same now. Make 
friends with your trials, as though you were 
always to live together ; and you will see that 
when you cease to take thought for your own 
deliverance, God will take thought for you ; and 
when you cease to help yourself eagerly, He will 
help you. 

St. Francis de Sales. 



Ah, if you knew what peace there is in an 
accepted sorrow ! Madame Guyon. 



320 November 15 



Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : be not dis- 
mayed ; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee ; 
yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with 
the right hand of my righteousness. — Is a. xli. 10. 



Lord, be Thou near and cheer my lonely way ; 

With Thy sweet peace my aching bosom fill $ 
Scatter my cares and fears ; my griefs allay, 

And be it mine each day 

To love and please Thee still. 

P. Corneille. 



WHAT if the wicked nature, which is as a 
sea" casting out mire and dirt, rage 
against thee ? There is a river, a 
sweet, still, flowing river, the streams whereof 
will make glad thy heart. And, learn but in 
quietness and stillness to retire to the Lord, and 
wait upon Him ; in whom thou shalt feel peace 
and joy, in the midst of thy trouble from the 
cruel and vexatious spirit of this world. So, 
wait to know thy work and service to the Lord 
every day, in thy place and station ; and the 
Lord make thee faithful therein, and thou wilt 
want neither help, support, nor comfort. 

I. Penington. 



November 16 321 



Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind 
is stayed on Thee : because he trusteth in Thee. — 
Isa. xxvi. 3. 



What comforts, Lord, to those are given, 
Who seek in Thee their home and rest ! 

They find on earth an opening heaven, 
And in Thy peace are amply blest. 

W. C. Dessler. 



OD is a tranquil Being, and abides in a 



tranquil eternity. So must thy spirit 



become a tranquil and clear little pool, 
wherein the serene light of God can be mir- 
rored. Therefore shun all that is disquieting 
and distracting, both within and without. 
Nothing in the whole world is worth the loss 
of thy peace ; even the faults which thou hast 
committed should only humble, but not disquiet 
thee. God is full of joy, peace, and happiness. 
Endeavor then to obtain a continually joyful 
and peaceful spirit. Avoid all anxious care, 
vexation, murmuring, and melancholy, which 
darken thy soul, and render thee unfit for the 
friendship of God, If thou dost perceive such 
feelings arising, turn gently away from them. 




G. Tersteegen. 



322 November 17 



Every day will I bless Thee ; and I will praise 
Thy name for ever and ever. — Ps. cxlv. 2. 

Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy 
thoughts shall be established. — Prov. xvi. 3. 

Lord, I my vows to Thee renew 5 
Disperse my sins as morning dew 5 
Guard my first springs of thought and will, 
And with Thyself my spirit fill. 

Thomas Ken. 

MORNING by morning think, for a few 
moments, of the chief employments of 
the day, any one thing of greater mo- 
ment than others, thine own especial trial, any 
occasions of it which are likely to come that 
day, and by one short strong act commend thy- 
self beforehand in all to God; offer all thy 
thoughts, words, and deeds to Him — to be 
governed, guided, accepted by Him. Choose 
some great occasions of the day, such as bring 
with them most trial to thee, on which, above 
others, to commend thyself to God. 

E. B. Pusey. 

Will you not, before venturing away from 
your early quiet hour, "commit thy works" to 
Him definitely, the special things you have to 
do to-day, and the unforeseen work which He 
may add in the course of it ? 

F. R. Havergal. 



November 18 323 



Hereby know we thai we dwell in Him, and 
He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. 
— 1 John iv. 13. 

Within ! within, oh turn 

Thy spirit's eyes, and learn 
Thy wandering senses gently to control 5 
Thy dearest Friend dwells deep within thy soul, 

And asks thyself of thee, 
That heart, and mind, and sense, He may make whole 

In perfect harmony. 

G. Tersteegen. 

WAIT patiently, trust humbly, depend 
only upon, seek solely to a God of 
Light and Love, of Mercy and Good- 
ness, of Glory and Majesty, ever dwelling in 
the inmost depth and spirit of your soul. There 
you have all the secret, hidden, invisible Up- 
holder of all the creation, whose blessed opera- 
tion will always be found by a humble, faithful, 
loving, calm, patient introversion of your heart 
to Him, who has His hidden heaven within 
you, and which will open itself to you, as soon 
as your heart is left wholly to His eternal, ever- 
speaking Word, and ever-sanctifying Spirit within 
you. Beware of all eagerness and activity of 
your own natural spirit and temper. Run not 
in any hasty ways of your own. Be patient 
under the sense of your own vanity and weak- 
ness ; and patiently wait for God to do His 
own work, and in His own way. Wm. Law. 



324 November 19 



If any man among you seem to be religious, and 
bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, 
this man's religion is vain, — James i. 26. 

/ said, I will take heed to my . ways, that I sin 
not with my tongue. — Ps. xxxix. 1. 

No sinful word, nor deed of wrong, 

Nor thoughts that idly rove ; 
But simple truth be on our tongue, 

And in our hearts be love. 

St. Ambrose. 

LET us all resolve, — First, to attain the 
grace of silence ; Second, to deem all 
fault-finding that does no good a sin, 
and to resolve, when we are happy ourselves, 
not to poison the atmosphere for our neighbors 
by calling on them to remark every painful and 
disagreeable feature of their daily life ; Third, to 
practise the grace and virtue of praise. 

Harriet B. Stowe. 

Surrounded by those who constantly exhibit 
defects of character and conduct, if we yield to 
a complaining and impatient spirit, we shall 
mar our own peace without having the satisfac- 
tion of benefiting others. 

T. C. Upham. 



November 20 325 



Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have 
clone the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 
— Heb. x. 36. 

Sweet Patience, come : 
Not from a low and earthly source, — 
Waiting, till things shall have their course, — 
Not as accepting present pain 
In hope of some hereafter gain, — 
Not in a dull and sullen calm, — 
But as a breath of heavenly balm, 
Bidding my weary heart submit 
To bear whatever God sees fit : 

Sweet Patience, come ! 

Hymns of the Church Militant. 

PATIENCE endues her scholars with con- 
tent of mind, and evenness of temper, 
preventing all repining grumbling, and 
impatient desires, and inordinate affections ; 
disappointments here are no crosses, and all 
anxious thoughts are disarmed of their sting ; 
in her habitations dwell quietness, submission, 
and long-suffering, all fierce turbulent inclina- 
tions are hereby allayed. The eyes of the 
patient fixedly wait the inward power of God's 
providence, and they are thereby mightily enabled 
towards their salvation and preservation. 

Thomas Tryon. 



326 November 21 



Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. — 
Matt. iv. 4. 

A mans life consisteth not in the abundance of 
the things which he possesseth. — Luke xii. 15. 

Whatever God does is well, 

Whether He gives or takes ! 

And what we from His hand receive 

Suffices us to live. 
He takes and gives, while yet He loves us still ; 

Then love His will. 

B. Schmolck. 

IS that beast better, that hath two or three 
mountains to graze on, than a little bee, 
that feeds on dew or manna, and lives upon 
what falls every morning from the storehouse 
of heaven, clouds, and providence ? 

Jeremy Taylor. 

For myself I am certain that the good of 
human life cannot lie in the possession of things 
which for one man to possess is for the rest to 
lose, but rather in things which all can possess 
alike, and where one man's wealth promotes his 
neighbor's. B. Spinoza. 



Every lot is happy to a person who bears it 
with tranquillity. Boethius. 



November 22 3 2 7 



Tour Father knoweth what things ye have need 
of _ Matt. vi. 8. 

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His right- 
eousness ; and all these things shall be added unto 
you. — Matt. vi. 33. 

Thy kingdom come, with power and grace, 

To every heart of man ; 
Thy peace, and joy, and righteousness 

In all our bosoms reign. 

C. Wesley. 

GOD bids us, then, by past mercies, by 
present grace, by fears of coming ill, by 
hopes in His goodness, earnestly, with 
our whole hearts, seek Him and His righteous- 
ness, and all these things, all ye need for soul 
and body, peace, comfort, joy, the overflowing 
of His consolations, shall be added over and 
above to you. E. B. Pusey. 

Grant us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, always 
to seek Thy kingdom and righteousness, and of 
whatsoever Thou seest us to stand in need, mer- 
cifully grant us an abundant portion. Amen. 

Be content to be a child, and let the Father 
proportion out daily to thee what light, what 
power, what exercises, what straits, what fears, 
what troubles He sees fit for thee. 

I. Penington. 



328 November 23 



/ have taught thee in the way of wisdom; 1 
have led thee in right paths. — Prov. iv. II. 

We know not what the path may be 

As yet by us untrod ; 
But we can trust our all to Thee, 

Our Father and our God. 

Wm. J. Irons. 

WE have very little command over the cir- 
cumstances in which we may be called 
by God to bear our part — unlimited 
command over the temper of our souls, but 
next to no command over the outward forms 
of trial. The most energetic will cannot order 
the events by which our spirits are to be perilled 
and tested. Powers quite beyond our reach — 
death, accident, fortune, another's sin — may 
change in a moment all the conditions of our 
life. With to-morrow's sun existence may have 
new and awful aspects for any of us. 

J. H. Thom. 

Oh, mv friend, look not out at what stands 
in the way, what if it look dreadfully as a lion, 
is not the Lord stronger than the mountains of 
prey ? but look *», where the law of life is 
written, and the will of the Lord revealed, that 
thou mayest know what is the Lord's will con- 
cerning thee. 

I. Penington. 



November 24 3 2 9 



A 



Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your 
heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. - Ps. xxxi. 24. 

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be 
a f ra id t — John xiv. 27. 

In heavenly love abiding, 

No change my heart shall tear ; 
And safe is such confiding, 

For nothing changes here. ^ ^ 

TRUE Christian, that hath power over 
his own will, may live nobly and happily, 
and enjoy a clear heaven within the se- 
renity of his own mind perpetually. When the 
sea of this world is most rough and tempestuous 
about him, then can he ride safely at anchor 
within the haven, by a sweet compliance of his 
will with God's will. He can look about h.m 
and with an even and indifferent mind behold 
the world either to smile or frown upon him ; 
neither will he abate of the least of his conten - 
ment for all the ill and unkind usage he meets 
withal in this life. He that hath got the mas- 
tery over his own will feels no violence from 
without, finds no contests within ; and when 
God calls for him out of this state of mortality, 
he finds in himself a power to lay down h,s 
own life } neither is it so much taken from him, 
as quietly and freely surrendered up by him. 
M 1 Dr. John Smith. 



330 November 25 



And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee ; 
He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither 
forsake thee : fear not, neither be dismayed. — 
Deut. xxxi. 8, 

Know well, my soul, God's hand controls 

Whate'er thou fearest ; 
Round Him in calmest music rolls 

Whate'er thou hearest. 

J. G. Whittier. 

THE lessons of the moral sentiment are, 
once for all, an emancipation from that 
anxiety which takes the joy out of all 
life. It teaches a great peace. It comes itself 
from the highest place. It is that, which being 
in all sound natures, and strongest in the best 
and most gifted men, we know to be implanted 
by the Creator of men. It is a commandment 
at every moment, and in every condition of life, 
to do the duty of that moment, and to abstain 
from doing the wrong. 

R. W. Emerson. 

Go face the fire at sea, or the cholera in 
your friend's house, or the burglar in your own, 
or what danger lies in the way of duty, know- 
ing you are guarded by the cherubim of Destiny. 

R. W. Emerson. 



November 26 331 



Behold^ I am with thee, and will keep thee in all 
places whither thou goest. — Gen. xxviii. 15. 

Be quiet, soul : 
Why shouldst thou care and sadness borrow, 
Why sit in nameless fear and sorrow, 

The livelong day ? 
God will mark out thy path to-morrow 

In His best way. 

Anon. 



I HAD hoped, Madame, to find you here, 
and was rejoicing in that hope; but God 
has sent you elsewhere. The best place is 
wherever He puts us, and any other would be 
undesirable, all the worse because it would please 
our fancy, and would be of our own choice. 
Do not think about distant events. This un- 
easiness about the future is unwholesome for 
you. We must leave to God all that depends 
on Him, and think only of being faithful in all 
that depends upon ourselves. When God 
takes away that which He has given you, He 
knows well how to replace it, either through 
other means or by Himself. 

Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 



332 November 27 



The Lord hath been mindful of us : He will 
bless us, — Ps. cxv. 12. 

My Father ! what am I, that all 
Thy mercies sweet like sunlight fall 

So constant o'er my way ? 
That Thy great love should shelter me, 
And guide my steps so tenderly 

Through every changing day ? Anon. 

WHAT a strength and spring of life, what 
hope and trust, what glad, unresting 
energy, is in this one thought, — to 
serve Him who is " my Lord," ever near me, 
ever looking on ; seeing my intentions before 
He beholds my failures ; knowing my desires 
before He sees mv faults; cheering me to en- 
deavor greater things, and yet accepting the 
least; inviting my poor service, and yet, above 
all, content with my poorer love. Let us try 
to realize this, whatsoever, wheresoever we be. 
The humblest and the simplest, the weakest 
and the most encumbered, may love Him not 
less than the busiest and strongest, the most 
gifted and laborious. If our heart be clear 
before Him; if He be to us our chief and 
sovereign choice, dear above all, and beyond all 
desired ; then all else matters little. That which 
concerneth us He will perfect in stillness and in 
power. 

H. E. Manning. 



November 28 333 



Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love : 
therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee, 
— Jer. xxxi. 3. 

On the great love of God I lean, 

Love of the Infinite, Unseen, 

With nought of heaven or earth between. 

This God is mine, and I am His 5 

His love is all I need of bliss. 

H. BONAR. 

IF ever human love was tender, and self- 
sacrificing, and devoted; if ever it could 
bear and forbear; if ever it could suffer 
gladly for its loved ones ; if ever it was willing 
to pour itself out in a lavish abandonment for 
the comfort or pleasure of its objects ; then in- 
finitely more is Divine love tender, and self- 
sacrificing, and devoted, and glad to bear and 
forbear, and to suffer, and to lavish its best of 
gifts and blessings upon the objects of its love. 
Put together all the tenderest love you know of, 
the deepest you have ever felt, and the strongest 
that has ever been poured out upon you, and 
heap upon it all the love of all the loving human 
hearts in the world, and then multiply it by 
infinity, and you will begin, perhaps, to have 
some faint glimpse of what the love of God is. 

H. W. Smith. 



334 November 29 



My sons, be not now negligent : for the Lord 
hath chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him. 
— 2 Chron. xxix. II. 

Bright be my prospect as I pass along ; — 
An ardent service at the cost of all, — 

Love by untiring ministry made strong, 
And ready for the first, the softest call. 

A. L. Waring. 

THERE are many things that appear trifles, 
which greatly tend to enervate the soul, 
and hinder its progress in the path to 
virtue and glory. The habit of indulging in 
things which our judgment cannot thoroughly 
approve, grows stronger and stronger by every 
act of self-gratification, and we are led on by 
degrees to an excess of luxury which must 
greatly weaken our hands in the spiritual war- 
fare. If we do not endeavor to do that which 
is right in every particular circumstance, though 
trifling, we shall be in great danger of letting 
the same negligence take place in matters more 
essential. Margaret Woods. 

The will can only be made submissive by 
frequent self-denials, which must keep in sub- 
jection its sallies and inclinations. Great weak- 
ness is often produced by indulgences which 
seem of no importance. M. de Molinos. 



November 30 335 



Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why 
art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God; for 
I shall yet praise Him for the help of His coun- 
tenance. — Ps. xlii. 5. 

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. 
— 2 Cor. iv. 8. 

Oh, my soul, why art thou vexed ? 

Let things go e'en as they will ; 
Though to thee they seem perplexed, 

Yet His order they fulfil. 

A. H. Francke. 

THE vexation, restlessness, and impatience 
which small trials cause, arise wholly from 
our ignorance and want of self-control. 
We may be thwarted and troubled, it is true, 
but these things put us into a condition for exer- 
cising patience and meek submission, and the 
self-abnegation wherein alone the fulness of 
God is to be found. Ve Renty. 

Every day deny yourself some satisfaction ; 

bearing all the inconveniences of life (for the 

love of God), cold, hunger, restless nights, ill 
health, unwelcome news, the faults of servants, 
contempt, ingratitude of friends, malice of ene- 
mies, calumnies, our own failings, lowness of 
spirits, the struggle in overcoming our corrup- 
tions ; — bearing all these with patience and 
resignation to the will of God. Do all this as 
unto God, with the greatest privacy. 

Thomas Wilson. 



33 6 December i 



Charity envieth not, . . . thinketh no evil 

i Cor. xiii. 4, 5. 

Why dost thou judge thy brother ? or why dost 
thou set at nought thy brother? — Rom. xiv. 10. 

He that despise th his neighbor sinneth. — Pro v. 
xiv. 21. 

Look thou with pity on a brother's fall, 

But dwell not with stern anger on his fault ; 

The grace of God alone holds thee, holds all $ 

Were that withdrawn, thou too wouldst swerve and halt. 

J. Edmeston. 

IF, on hearing of the fall of a brother, however 
differing or severed from us, we feel the 
least inclination to linger over it, instead of 
hiding it in grief and shame, or veiling it in the 
love which covereth a multitude of sins ; if, in 
seeing a joy or a grace or an effective service 
given to others, we do not rejoice, but feel de- 
pressed, let us be very watchful ; the most dia- 
bolical of passions may mask itself as humility, 
or zeal for the glory of God. 

Elizabeth Charles. 

Love taketh up no malign elements ; its spirit 
prompteth it to cover in mercy all things that 
ought not to be exposed, to believe all of good 
that can be believed, to hope all things that a 
good God makes possible, and to endure all 
things that the hope may be made good. 

J. H. Thom. 



December 2 337 



Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whoso- 
ever thou art that judgest : for wherein thou judg- 
est another, thou condemnest thyself', for thou that 
judgest doest the same things, — Rom. ii. I. 

Search thine own heart. What paineth thee 

In others, in thyself may be ; 
All dust is frail, all flesh is weak 5 

Be thou the true man thou dost seek. 

J. G. Whittier. 

A SAINT'S life in one man may be less 
than common honesty in another. From 
us, whose consciences He has reached 
and enlightened, God may look for a martyr's 
truth, a Christian's unworldly simplicity, before 
He will place us on a level even with the aver- 
age of the exposed classes. We perhaps think 
our lives at least harmless. We do not con- 
sider what He may think of them, when com- 
pared with the invitations of His that we have 
slighted, with the aims of His Providence we 
are leaving without our help, with the glory for 
ourselves we are refusing and casting away, 
with the vast sum of blessed work that daily 
faithfulness in time can rear without overwork 
on any single day. 

J. H. Thom. 



22 



338 December 3 



.Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and 
peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, 
through the power of the Holy Ghost, — Rom. 
xv. 13. 

To heaven I lift my waiting eyes ; 

There all my hopes are laid 5 
The Lord that built the earth and skies 

Is my perpetual aid. 

I. Watts. 

GROVEL not in things below, among' 
earthly cares, pleasures, anxieties, toils, 
if thou wouldst have a good strong hope 
on high. Lift up thy cares with thy heart to 
God, if thou wouldst hope in Him. Then see 
what in thee is most displeasing to God. This 
it is which holdeth thy hope down. Strike 
firmly, repeatedly, in the might of God, until 
it give way. Thy hope will soar at once with 
thy thanks to God who delivereth thee. 

E. B. Pusey. 

The snares of the enemy will be so known 
to thee and discerned, the way of help so mani- 
fest and easy, that their strength will be broken, 
and the poor entangled bird will fly away sing- 
ing, from the nets and entanglements of the 
fowler; and praises will spring up, and great 
love in thy heart to the Forgiver and Redeemer. 

I. Penington. 



December 4 339 



Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal 
life,whereunto thou art also called. — I Tim. VI. 1 2. 

Oh, dream no more of quiet life ; 
Care finds the careless out ; more wise to vow 

Thy heart entire to faith's pure strife ; 
So peace will come, thou knowest not when or how. 

Lyra Apostolica. 



WHO art thou that complainest of thy 
life of toil? Complain not. Look 
up, my wearied brother; see thy fel- 
low-workmen there, in God's Eternity ; surviv- 
ing there, they alone surviving-, sacred band ot 
the Immortals, celestial body-guard of the em- 
pire of mankind. To thee Heaven, though 
severe, is not unkind; Heaven is kind,— as a 
noble mother ; as that Spartan mother, saying 
while she gave her son his shield, "With it, my 
son, or upon it." Thou too shalt return home in 
honor; to thy far-distant Home, in honor; 
doubt it not, — if in the battle thou keep thy 
shield! Thou, in the Eternities and deepest 
death-kingdoms art not an alien ; thou every- 
where art a denizen. Complain not. 

T. Carlyle. 



34° December 5 



The God of all grace, who hath called us unto 
His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye 
have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, 
strengthen, settle you. — I Pet. v. io. 

Take heed, and be quiet ; fear not, neither be 
faint-hearted. — Isa. vii. 4. 

How shalt thou bear the cross that now 

So dread a weight appears ? 
Keep quietly to God, and think 

Upon the Eternal Years. F. W. Faber. 

GOD forgive them that raise an ill report 
upon the sweet cross of Christ ; it is but 
our weak and dim eyes, that look but to 
the black side, that makes us mistake ; those 
that can take that crabbed tree handsomely upon 
their backs, and fasten it on cannily, shall find 
it such a burden as wings unto a bird, or sails 
to a ship. S. Rutherford. 

Blessed is any weight, however overwhelm- 
ing, which God has been so good as to fasten 
with His own hand upon our shoulders. 

F. W. Faber. 

We cannot say this or that trouble shall not 
befall, yet we may, by help of the Spirit, say, 
nothing that doth befall shall make me do that 
which is unworthy of a Christian. R. Sibbes. 



December 6 34 1 



This God is our God for ever and ever: He will 
be our guide even unto death. — Ps. xlviii. 14. 

For the Lord shall be thy confidence. — Prov. 
iii. 26. 

Be still, my soul ! Thy God doth undertake 
To guide the future, as He has the past : 

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake, 
All now mysterious shall be bright at last. 

J. BORTHWICK. 

HE has kept and folded us from ten thous- 
and ills when we did not know it : in 
the midst of our security we should have 
perished every hour, but that He sheltered us 
" from the terror by night and from the arrow 
that flieth by day"— from the powers of evil 
that walk in darkness, from snares of our own 
evil will. He has kept us even against ourselves, 
and saved us even from our own undoing. Let 
us read the traces of His hand in all our ways, 
in all the events, the chances, the changes of 
this troubled state. It is He that folds and 
feeds us, that makes us to go in and out,— to 
be faint, or to find pasture, — to lie down by 
the still waters, or to walk by the way that is 
parched and desert. H. E. Manning. 

We are never without help. We have no 
right to say of any good work, it is too hard for 
me to do, or of any sorrow, it is too hard for 
me to bear or of any sinful habit, it is too hard 
for me to overcome. Elizabeth Charles. 



342 December 7 



Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace. 
— Job xxii. 21. 

All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and 
great shall be the peace of thy children. — Is A. 
liv. 13. 

Unite, my roving thoughts, unite 

In silence soft and sweet 5 
And thou, my soul, sit gently down 

At thy great Sovereign's feet. 

P. Doddridge. 

YES ! blessed are those holy hours in which 
the soul retires from the world to be alone 
with God. God's voice, as Himself, is 
everywhere. Within and without, He speaks 
to our souls, if we would hear. Only the din 
of the world, or the tumult of our own hearts, 
deafens our inward ear to it. Learn to com- 
mune with Him in stillness, and He, whom 
thou hast sought in stillness, will be with thee 
when thou goest abroad. E. B. Pusey. 

The great step and direct path to the fear 
and awful reverence of God, is to meditate, and 
with a sedate and silent hush to turn the eyes of 
the mind inwards; there to seek, and with a 
submissive spirit wait at the gates of Wisdom's 
temple \ and then the Divine Voice and Distin- 
guishing Power will arise in the light and centre 
of a man's self. Thomas Tryon. 



December 8 343 



Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual 
blessings. — Eph. i. 3. 

As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing. — 2 Cor. 
vi. 10. 

It is not happiness I seek, 

Its name I hardly dare to speak ; 

It is not made for man or earth,_ 

And Heaven alone can give it birth. 

There is a something sweet and pure, 

Through life, through death it may endure ; 

With steady foot I onward press, 

And long to win that Blessedness. 

& Louisa J. Hall. 

THE elements of happiness in this present 
life no man can command, even it he 
could command himself, for they depend 
on the action of many wills, on the purity of 
many hearts, and by the highest law of God the 
holiest must ever bear the sins and sorrows of 
the rest ; but over the blessedness of his own spirit 
circumstance need have no control ; God has 
therein given an unlimited power to the means 
of preservation, of grace and growth, at every 
, j I H. Thom. 

man s command. J- 

There is in man a higher than love of hap- 
piness : he can do without happiness, and instead 
thereof find blessedness ! T. Carlyle. 



344 December g 



For this shall every one that is godly pray unto 
Thee in a time when Thou may est be found : surely 
in the floods of great waters they shall not come 
nigh unto him. — Ps. xxxii. 6. 

Be not o'ermastered by thy pain, 

But cling to God, thou shalt not fall ; 
The floods sweep over thee in vain, 

Thou yet shalt rise above them all ; 
For when thy trial seems too hard to bear, 
Lo ! God, thy King, hath granted all thv prayer : 

Be thou content. 

P. Gerhardt. 

IT is the Lord's mercy, to give thee breath- 
ings after life, and cries unto Him against 
that which oppresseth thee ; and happy wilt 
thou be, when He shall fill thy soul with that 
which He hath given thee to breathe after. Be 
not troubled ; for if troubles abound, and there 
be tossing, and storms, and tempests, and no 
peace, nor anything visible left to support ; yet, 
lie still, and sink beneath, till a secret hope stir, 
which will stay the heart in the midst of all 
these ; until the Lord administer comfort, who 
knows how and what relief to give to the 
weary traveller, that knows not where it is, nor 
which way to look, nor where to expect a path. 

I. Penington. 



December 10 345 



Behold, we count them happy which endure. — ■ 
James v. ii. 

If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as 
with sons. — Heb. xii. 7. 

Trials must and will befall 5 
But with humble faith to see 

Love inscribed upon them all, 
This is happiness to me. 

W. Cowper. 

BE not afraid of those trials which God may 
see fit to send upon thee. It is with the 
wind and storm of tribulation that God 
separates the true wheat from the chaff. Always 
remember, therefore, that God comes to thee in 
thy sorrows, as really as in thy joys. He lays 
low, and He builds up. Thou wilt find thyself 
far from perfection, if thou dost not find God in 
everything. 

M. de Molinos. 

God hath provided a sweet and quiet life for 
His children, could they improve and use it ; 
a calm and firm conviction in all the storms and 
troubles that are about them, however things go, 
to find content, and be careful for nothing. 

R. Leighton. 



346 



December n 



Oh, that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and 
that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou 
wouldest keep vie from evil, thai it may not grieve 
me! — i Chron. iv. 10. 

Ye shall serve the Lord your God,, and He shall 
bless thy bread and thy water. — Ex. xxiii. 25. 

What I possess, or what I crave, 

Brings no content, great God, to me, 

If what I would, or what I have, 
Be not possest, and blest, in Thee ; 
What I enjoy, O make it mine, 
Tn making me that have it, Thine. 

J. Quarles. 

OFFER up to God all pure affections, de- 
sires, regrets, and all the bonds which 
link us to home, kindred, and friends, 
together with all our works, purposes, and labors. 
These things, w 7 hich are not only lawful, but 
sacred, become then the matter of thanksgiving 
and oblation. Memories, plans for the future, 
wishes, intentions ; works just begun, half done, 
all but completed ; emotions, sympathies, affec- 
tions, — all these things throng tumultously 
and dangerously in the heart and will. The 
only way to master them is to offer them up to 
Him, as once ours, under Him, always His by 
right. 

H. E. Manning. 



December 12 347 



/ delight to do Thy will, O my God : yea, Thy 



A patient, a victorious mind, 
That life and all things casts behind, 

Springs forth obedient to Thy call ; 
A heart that no desire can move, 
But still to adore, believe, and love, 

Give me, my Lord, my Life, my All. 



HAT piety which sanctifies us, and which 



is a true devotion to God, consists in do- 



ing all His will precisely at the time, in 
the situation, and under the circumstances, in 
which He has placed us. Perfect devotedness 
requires, not only that we do the will of God, 
but that we do it with love. God would have 
us serve Him with delight ; it is our hearts that 
He asks of us. Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

Devotion is really neither more nor less than 
a general inclination and readiness to do that 
which we know to be acceptable to God. It 
is that " free spirit," of which David spoke when 
he said, u I will run the way of Thy command- 
ments, when Thou hast set my heart at liberty." 
People of ordinary goodness walk in God's way, 
but the devout run in it, and at length they 
almost fly therein. To be truly devout, we 
must not only do God's will, but we must do 
it cheerfully. St. Francis de Sales. 



law is within my heart. — Ps. xl. 8. 



P. Gerhardt. 




348 December 13 



So teach us to number our days, that we may 
apply our hearts unto wisdom. — Ps. xc. 12. 

Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall 
drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. — Luke 
xii. 29. 

Our days are numbered : let us spare 
Our anxious hearts a needless care : 
'T is Thine to number out our days ; 
'T is ours to give them to Thy praise. 

Madame Guyon. 

EVERY day let us renew the consecration 
to God's service ; every day let us, in His 
strength, pledge ourselves afresh to do 
His will, even in the veriest trifle, and to turn 
aside from anything that may displease Him. 
He does not bid us bear the burdens of to- 
morrow, next week, or next year. Every day 
we are to come to Him in simple obedience 
and faith, asking help to keep us, and aid us 
through that day's work ; and to-morrow, and to- 
morrow, and to-morrow, through years of long 
to-morrows, it will be but the same thing to 
do ; leaving the future always in God's hands, 
sure that He can care for it better than we. 
Blessed trust ! that can thus confidingly say, 
" This hour is mine with its present duty ; the 
next is God's, and when it comes, His presence 
will come with it." 

W. R. Huntington. 



December 14 349 



And as many as walk according to this rule, 
peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel 
of God. — Gal. vi. 16. 

Lord, I have given my life to Thee, 
And every day and hour is Thine, — 

What Thou appointest let them be 5 
Thy will is better, Lord, than mine. 

A. Warner. 

BEGIN at once ; before you venture away 
from this quiet moment, ask your King to 
take you wholly into His service, and 
place all the hours of this day quite simply at 
His disposal, and ask Him to make and keep 
you ready to do just exactly what He appoints. 
Never mind about to-morrow ; one day at a 
time is enough. Try it to-day, and see if it is 
not a day of strange, almost curious peace, so 
sweet that you will be only too thankful, when 
to-morrow comes, to ask Him to take it also, 
— till it will become a blessed habit to hold 
yourself simply and "wholly at Thy command- 
ment for any manner of service." The " what- 
soever " is not necessarily active work. It may 
be waiting (whether half an hour or half a life- 
time), learning, suffering, sitting still. But shall 
we be less ready for these, if any of them are 
His appointments for to-day ? Let us ask Him 
to prepare us for all that He is preparing for us. 

F. R. Havergal. 



35° 



December i$ 



Return unto thy rest, O my soul ; for the Lord 
hath dealt bountifully with thee. — Ps. cxvi. 7 . 

We which have believed do enter into rest. — 
Heb. iv. 3. 

Rest is not quitting 

The busy career $ 
Rest is the fitting 

Of self to its sphere. 

*T is loving and serving 

The highest and best ! 
*Tis onwards, unswerving,— 

And that is true rest. 

J. S. DWIGHT. 



A 



S a result of this strong faith, the inner 
life of Catherine of Genoa was character- 
ized, in a remarkable degree, by what 
mav be termed rest, or quietude ; wh.ch is only 
another form of expression for true interior 
D eace It was not, however, the quietude of a 
lazy inaction, but the quietude of an inward 
acquiescence; not a quietude which feels noth- 
ing and does nothing, but that higher and divine 
quietude which exists by feeling and acting in 
?he time and degree of God's appointment and 
God's will. It was a principle in her conduct, 
to give herself to God in the discharge of duty ; 
and to leave all results without solicitude in His 

hands - T. C. Upham. 



December 16 



35 1 



Thou understandest my thugbt afar off. — Ps. 
cxxxix. 2o 

Who can understand his errors? cleanse Thou 
me from secret faults. — Ps. xix. 12. 

My newest griefs to Thee are old 5* 

My last transgression of Thy law, 
Though wrapped in thought's most secret fold, 

Thine eyes with pitying sadness saw. 

H. M. Kimball. 

LORD our God, great, eternal, wonderful 
in glory, who keepest covenant and 
promises for those that love Thee with 
their whole heart, who art the Life of all, the 
Help of those that flee unto Thee, the Hope of 
those who cry unto Thee, cleanse us from our 
sins, secret and open, and from every thought 
displeasing to Thy goodness, — cleanse our 
bodies and souls, our hearts and consciences, 
that with a pure heart, and a clear soul, with 
perfect love and calm hope, we may venture 
confidently and fearlessly to pray unto Thee. 
Amen. Coptic Liturgy of St. Basil. 

The dominion of any sinful habit will fear- 
fully estrange us from His presence. A single 
consenting act of inward disobedience in thought 
or will is enough to let fall a cloud between 
Him and us, and to leave our hearts cheerless 
and dark. H. E. Manning. 



352 December 17 



The fruit of the S0rlt is love, joy, peace, long- 
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem- 
perance. — Gal. v. 22,23. 

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much 
fruit ; so shall ye be my disciples. — John xv. 8. 

O Breath from out the Eternal Silence ! blow 

Softly upon our spirits' barren ground j 
The precious fulness of our God bestow, 

That fruits of faith, love, reverence may abound. 

G. Tersteegen. 

IS it possible we should be ignorant whether 
we feel tempers contrary to love or no ? — 
whether we rejoice always, or are burdened 
and bowed down with sorrow? — whether we 
have a praying, or a dead, lifeless spirit ? — 
whether we can praise God, and be resigned in 
all trials, or feel murmurings, fretfulness, and 
impatience under them ? — is it not easy to 
know if we feel anger at provocations, or 
whether we feel our tempers mild, gentle, 
peaceable, and easy to be entreated, or feel 
stubbornness, self-will, and pride ? whether we 
have slavish fears, or are possessed of that per- 
fect love which casteth out all fear that hath 
torment ? 

Hester Ann Rogers. 



December 18 353 



We trust in the living God. — I Tim. iv. 10. 

Thy secret judgment's depths profound 

Still sings the silent night $ 
The day, upon his golden round, 

Thy pity infinite. 

I. Williams. Tr. from Latin, 

NOW that I have no longer any sense for 
the transitory and perishable, the uni- 
verse appears before my eyes under a 
transformed aspect. The dead, heavy mass 
which did but stop up space has vanished, and 
in its place there flows onward, with the rush- 
ing music of mighty waves, an eternal stream 
of life, and power, and action, which issues 
from the original source of all life, — from Thy 
life, O Infinite One ! for all life is Thy life, 
and only the religious eye penetrates to the 
realm of true Beauty. J. G. Fichte. 

What is Nature ? Art thou not the " Liv- 
ing Garment " of God ? O Heavens, is it, in 
very deed, He then that ever speaks through 
thee; that lives and loves in thee, that lives and 
loves in me ? Sweeter than dayspring to the 
shipwrecked in Nova Zembla ; ah ! like the 
mother's voice to her little child that strays 
bewildered, weeping, in unknown tumults ; like 
soft streamings of celestial music to my too ex- 
asperated heart, came that Evangel. The Uni- 
verse is not dead and demoniacal, a charnel-house 
with spectres \ but godlike, and my Father's. 

23 T. Carlyle. 



December 19 



And now, Lord, what wait I for f my hope is 
in Thee. — Ps. xxxix. 7. 

O Lord, be gracious unto us ; we have waited 
for Thee. — Isa. xxxiii. 2. 

He never comes too late ; 

He knoweth what is best 5 
Vex not thyself in vain ; 

Until He cometh, rest. B. T. 

WE make mistakes, or what we call such. 
The nature that could fall into such 
mistake exactly needs, and in the good- 
ness of the dear God is given, the living of it 
out, And beyond this, I believe more. That 
in the pure and patient living of it out we come 
to find that we have fallen, not into hopeless 
confusion of our own wild, ignorant making ; 
but that the finger of God has been at work 
among our lines,^and that the emerging is into 
His blessed order; that He is forever making up 
for us our own undoings ; that He makes them 
up beforehand; that He evermore restoreth our 
souls. A. D. T. Whitney. 

The Lord knows how to make stepping- 
stones for us of our defects, even ; it is what 
He lets them be for. He remembereth — He 
remembered in the making — that we are but 
dust ; the dust of earth, that He chose to make 
something little lower than the angels out of. 

A. D. T. Whitney. 



December 20 355 



Take no thought how or what ye shall speak : 
for it shall be given you in that same hour what 
ye shall speak. — Matt. x. 19. 

Just to follow hour by hour 

As He leadeth 5 
Just to draw the moment's power 

As it needeth. 

F. R. Havergal. 

YOU have a disagreeable duty to do at 
twelve o'clock. Do not blacken nine, 
and ten, and eleven, and all between, with 
the color of twelve. Do the work of each, and 
reap your reward in peace. So when the dreaded 
moment in the future becomes the present, you 
shall meet it walking in the light, and that light 
will overcome its darkness. The best prepara- 
tion is the present well seen to, the last duty 
done. For this will keep the eye so clear and 
the body so full of light that the right action 
will be perceived at once, the right words will 
rush from the heart to the lips, and the man, 
full of the Spirit of God because he cares for 
nothing but the will of God, will trample on 
the evil thing in love, and be sent, it may be, 
in a chariot of fire to the presence of his Father, 
or stand unmoved amid the cruel mockings of 
the men he loves. 

G. Macdonald. 



356 December 21 



Hast thou not known ? hast thou not heard, 
that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator 
of the ends of the earth, faint eth not, neither is 
weary ? He giveth power to the faint ; and to 
them that have no might he increaseth strength. — 
Isa. xl. 28, 29. 

Workman of God ! oh, lose not heart, 

But learn what God is like ; 
And in the darkest battle-field 

Thou shalt know where to strike. 

F. W. Faber. 

FOR the rest, let that vain struggle to read 
the mystery of the Infinite cease to harass 
us. It is a mystery which, through all 
ages, we shall only read here a line of, there 
another line of. Do we not already know that 
the name of the Infinite is Good, is God? 
Here on earth we are as soldiers, fighting in a 
foreign land, that understand not the plan of the 
campaign, and have no need to understand it ; 
seeing well what is at our hand to be done. 
Let us do it like soldiers, with submission, with 
courage, with a heroic joy. Behind us, behind 
each one of us, lie six thousand years of human 
effort, human conquest : before us is the bound- 
less Time, with its as yet uncreated and un- 
conquered continents and Eldorados, which we, 
even we, have to conquer, to create ; and from 
the bosom of Eternity there shine for us celes- 
tial guiding stars. T. Carlyle. 



December 22 357 



/ will wait upon the Lord, that hideth His face 
from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him. 
— Isa. viii. 17. 

What heart can comprehend Thy name, 

Or, searching, find Thee out ? 
Who art within, a quickening flame, 

A presence round about. 

Yet though I know Thee but in part, 

I ask not, Lord, for more : 
Enough for me to know Thou art, 

To love Thee and adore. 

F. L. Hosmer. 

STAND up, O heart ! and yield not one 
inch of thy rightful territory to the usurp- 
ing intellect. Hold fast to God in spite 
of logic, and yet not quite blindly. Be not torn 
from thy grasp upon the skirts of His garments 
by any wrench of atheistic hypothesis that seeks 
only to hurl thee into utter darkness ; but refuse 
not to let thy hands be gently unclasped by that 
loving and pious philosophy that seeks to draw 
thee from the feet of God only to place thee in 
His bosom. Trustfully, though tremblingly, let 
go the robe, and thou shalt rest upon the heart 
and clasp the very living soul of God. 

James Hinton. 



358 December 23 



Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier 
of Jesus Christ. — 2 Tim. ii. 3. 

Where our Captain bids us go, 
'T is not ours to murmur, " No." 

He that gives the sword and shield, 

Chooses too the battle-field 
On which we are to fight the foe. 

Anon. 



OF nothing may we be more sure than this ; 
that, if we cannot sanctify our present 
lot, we could sanctify no other. Our 
heaven and our Almighty Father are there or 
nowhere. The obstructions of that lot are 
given for us to heave away by the concurrent 
touch of a holy spirit, and labor of strenuous 
will ; its gloom, for us to tint with some celes- 
tial light ; its mysteries are for our worship ; 
its sorrows for our trust ; its perils for our cour- 
age ; its temptations for our faith. Soldiers of 
the cross, it is not for us, but for our Leader 
and our Lord, to choose the field ; it is ours, 
taking the station which He assigns, to make 
it the field of truth and honor, though it be the 
field of death. 

J. Martineau. 



December 24 359 



Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made 
us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the 
saints in light, — Col. i. 12. 

The souls most precious to us here 

May from this home have fled ; 
But still we make one household dear 5 

One Lord is still our head. 
Midst cherubim and seraphim 

They mind their Lord' s affairs ; 
Oh ! if we bring our work to Him 

Our work is one with theirs. 

T. H. Gill. 

WE are apt to feel as if nothing we could 
do on earth bears a relation to what 
the good are doing in a higher world ; 
but it is not so. Heaven and earth are not so 
far apart. Every disinterested act, every sacri- 
fice to duty, every exertion for the good of " one 
of the least of "Christ's brethren," every new 
insight into God's works, every new impulse 
given to the love of truth and goodness, associ- 
ates us with the departed, brings us nearer to 
them, and is as truly heavenly as if we were 
acting, not on earth, but in heaven. The 
spiritual tie between us and the departed is not 
felt as it should be. Our union with them daily 
grows stronger, if we daily make progress in 
what they are growing in. 

Wm. E. Channing. 



360 December 25 



That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may 
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the 
breadth, and length, and depth, and height ; and 
to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowl- 
edge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness 
of God. — Eph. iii. 17-19. 

O love that passeth knowledge, thee I need 5 

Pour in the heavenly sunshine ; fill my heart ; 
Scatter the cloud, the doubting, and the dread, — 
The joy unspeakable to me impart. 

H. BONAR. 

TO examine its evidence is not to try Chris- 
tianity ; to admire its martyrs is not to 
try Christianity ; to compare and esti- 
mate its teachers is not to try Christianity ; to 
attend its rites and services with more than 
Mahometan punctuality is not to try or know 
Christianity. But for one week, for one day, 
to have lived in the pure atmosphere of faith 
and love to God, of tenderness to man ; to have 
beheld earth annihilated, and heaven opened to 
the prophetic gaze of hope; to have seen evermore 
revealed behind the complicated troubles of this 
strange, mysterious life, the unchanged smile of 
an eternal Friend, and everything that is difficult 
to reason solved by that reposing trust which is 
higher and better than reason, — to have known 
and felt this, I will not say for a life, but for a 
single blessed hour, that, indeed, is to have made 
experiment of Christianity. 

Wm. Archer Butler. 



December 26 3 61 



The P^ce of God, which passeth all understand- 
in, shall 4 y" and mnds thrmg 

Christ Jesus.— Phil. iv. 7- 

Lrt ^ peace of God rule tn your hearts. - 

Col. iii. 15- 

Drop Thy still dews of quietness, 

Till all our strivings cease ; 
Take from our souls the strain and stress, 
And let our ordered lives contess 

The beauty of Thy peace ^ WmTT1ER . 



\HESE things write we unto you, that 
n m ^ v be f u n » What is fulness 

^U^Zt peace? ' Joy is tumultuous 
only when I is not full; but peace » the I»nvi- 
! 0 f those who are « filled with the knowl- 
edge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters 
ofer the sea.^ "Thou wilt keep , him tn per- 
fect peace, whose mind « stayed on Thee 
because he trusteth in Thee. It is peace 
springing from trust and innocence and then 
S o P ver fl S ow1n g in love towards all ^ ^ 

Through the spirit of Divine Love let the 
violent, obstinate powers of thy nature be 
2 the hardness of thy affections softened, 
Td thme intractable self-will subdued ; and as 
often as anything contrary stirs withir , thee 
im mediately sink into the blessed Oc an of 
meekness and love. G. Tersteegen. 



362 December 27 



Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a 
son ; and if a son, then an heir of God through 
Christ. — Gal. iv. 7. 

Not by the terrors of a slave 

God's sons perform His will, 
But with the noblest powers they have 

His sweet commands fulfil. 

Isaac Watts. 

OUR thoughts, good or bad, are not in our 
command, but every one of us has at all 
hours duties to do, and these he can do 
negligently, like a slave, or faithfully, like a true 
servant. " Do the duty that is nearest thee " — 
that first, and that well ; all the rest will disclose 
themselves with increasing clearness, and make 
their successive demand. Were your duties 
never so small, I advise you, set yourself with 
double and treble energy and punctuality, to do 
them, hour after hour, day after day. 

T. Carlyle. 



Whatever we are, high or lowly, learned or 
unlearned, married or single, in a full house or 
alone, charged with many affairs or dwelling in 
quietness, we have our daily round of work, 
our duties of affection, obedience, love, mercy, 
industry, and the like; and that which makes 
one man to differ from another is not so much 
what things he does, as his manner of doing 
them. H. E. Manning. 



December 28 3 6 3 



Now the God of peace make you perfect in every 
good work, to do His will, working in you that 
which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus 
Christ. — Heb. xiii. 20, 21. 

Be ready to every good work. — Titus in. 1. 

So, firm in steadfast hope, in thought secure, 

In full accord to all Thy world of joy, 
May I be nerved to labors high and pure, 

And Thou Thy child to do Thy work employ. 

J. Sterling. 

BE with God in thy outward works, refer 
them to Him, offer them to Him, seek to 
do them in Him and for Him, and He 
will be with thee in them, and they shall not 
hinder, but rather invite His presence in thy 
soul. Seek to see Him in all things, and in all 
things He will come nigh to thee. 

8 E. B. Pusey. 

Nothing less than the majesty of God, and 
the powers of the world to come, can maintain 
the peace and sanctity of our homes, the order 
and serenity of our minds, the spirit of patience 
and tender mercy in our hearts. Then will 
even the merest drudgery of duty cease to 
humble us, when we transfigure it by the glory 
of our own spirit. 

J. Martineau. 



364 December 29 



Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, 
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things 
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good 
report, — think on these things. — Phil. iv. 8. 

As he think eth in his heart, so is he. — Pro v. 
xxiii. 7. 

Still may Thy sweet mercy spread 

A shady arm above my head, 

About my paths 5 so shall I find 

The fair centre of my mind 

Thy temple, and those lovely walls 

Bright ever with a beam that falls 

Fresh from the pure glance of Thine eye, 

Lighting to eternity. 

R. Crashaw. 

MAKE yourselves nests of pleasant 
thoughts. None of us yet know, for 
none of us have been taught in early 
youth, what fairy palaces we may build of 
beautiful thought — proof against all adversity. 
Bright fancies, satisfied memories, noble his- 
tories, faithful sayings, treasure-houses of pre- 
cious and restful thoughts, which care cannot 
disturb, nor pain make gloomy, nor poverty 
take away from us, — houses built without 
hands, for our souls to live in, 

J. Ruskin. 



December 30 3 6 5 



O Lord, I know that the way of man u 
himself: it is not in man that walketh i 
his steps. — JeR. x. 23. 



I will direct all his ways.—ls*. xlv. 13. 



Come, Light serene and still ! 
Our darkened spirits fill 

With thy clear day : 
Guide of the feeble sight, 
Star of griefs darkest night, 
Reveal the path of right, 

Show us Thy way. 

Robert II. of France. 



THERE had been solemn appointed seasons 
in Anna's life, when she was accustomed 
to enter upon a full and deliberate survey 
of her business in this world. The claims of 
each relationship, and the results of each occu- 
pation, were then examined in the light ot 
eternity. It was then, too, her fervent prayer 
to be enabled to discern the will ot <jod tar 
more perfectly, not only in the indications given 
of it for her guidance through each day's occu- 
pations, but as it might concern duties not yet 
brought home to her conscience, and therefore 

unprovided for in her life. 

r Sarah W. Stephen. 



366 December 31 



Forgetting those things which are behind, and 
reaching forth unto those things which are before, 
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high 
calling of God in Christ Jesus. — Phil. iii. 13, 14. 

Yet I argue not 
Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot 
Of heart or hope ; but still bear up and steer 
Right onward. 

J. Milton. 

IT is not by regretting what is irreparable that 
true work is to be done, but by making the 
best of what we are. It is not by com- 
plaining that we have not the right tools, but by 
using well the tools we have. What we are, 
and where we are, is God's providential arrange- 
ment, — God's doing, though it may be man's 
misdoing; and the manly and the wise way is to 
look your disadvantages in the face, and see 
what can be made out of them. Life, like war, 
is a series of mistakes, and he is not the best 
Christian nor the best general who makes the 
fewest false steps. He is the best who wins 
the most splendid victories by the retrieval of 
mistakes. Forget mistakes; organize victory 
out of mistakes. 

F. W. Robertson. 



INDEX OF AUTHORS 



prose ^elections 

PAGK 

Adorna, St. Catharine (i447- I 5 10 ) 285 

Anonymous Il6 ' 0 I f 3,235,2 U , I 3 T 8 

Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius (121-180) 25, 34, »9» 

161, 174, i77> 2o6 > 2 74> 2 7<> 

Arnold, Rev. Thomas (1795-1842) 228 

Augustine, St. (354-43°) 27,1 

Basil, Coptic Liturgy of St. (about 370) . . . 35 1 

Barnes, Rev. Albert (1798-1870) I2 7 

Boethius (about 47°-5 2 4) 32 

Boston, Rev. Thomas (1676-173 2 ) 124 

Bronte, Charlotte (Mrs. Nicholls) (1816-1855) . 277 
Brooke, Rev. Stopford Augustus (b. 1832) . . 90, 20 7 
Brooks, Bishop Phillips (1835-1893) 5, 86, 158, 211, 3H 
Brown, Rev. James Baldwin (1820-1884) ... 291 

Browne, Sir Thomas (1605-1682) 43 

Bushnell, Rev. Horace (1802-1876) 3° 2 

Butler, Bishop Joseph (1692-1752) .... 22, 146 
Butler, Rev. William Archer (18 14-1848) . . 107, 3 6 ° 
Buxton, Charles (1822-1871) 82,127 

Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1880) 50, i3 2 > 220, 2 75> 2 93> 3*3> 

316, 339> 343, 353, 35^, 362 
Carter, Canon Thomas Thelluson (b. 1808) 3 2 > 160 
Cecil, Rev. Richard (1748-1810) . . 13, H7, ^8, 2 98 



368 INDEX OF AUTHORS 



PAGE 

Channing, Rev. William Ellery (i 780-1 842) 111, ifo, 

192, 222, 359 

Charles, Mrs. Elizabeth (Rundle) (1827-1896) 8, 58, 

103, 152, 269, 280, 336, 341 



Clarke, Rev. James Freeman (1810-1888) . 212, 258 
Cobbe, Frances Power (b. 1822) .... 82, 113, 137 
Collyer, Rev. Robert (b. 1823) 65 

Dewey, Rev. Orville (1794-1882) . . . 88,178,216 

Edwards, Rev. Jonathan (1703-1758) 123 

Eliot, Rev. Joseph (d. 1694) 14 2 

Eliot, George (Marian Evans Cross) (1819- 

1880) 38, 46, 80, 177, 263, 277, 288, 297 

Emerson, Mary Moody (1774-1863) 131 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882) 20,46,91,105,122, 
148, 151, 155, 184, 206, 225, 293, 330 
Epictetus (1st and 2d centuries of Christian era) . 44 
Erskine, Thomas (1788-1870) 3*3 



Faber, Rev. Frederick William (181 5-1863) 32,94,97, 
146, 148, 160, 193, 239, 317, 340 
Fenelon, Archbishop Francois de Salignac de 
la Mothe (1651-1715) 41,42,55,80,81,84,97, 124, 135, 
149, 180, 193, 226, 233, 247, 257, 264, 279, 291, 331, 347 

FlCHTE, JOHANN GOTTLIEB (1762-1814) . • . IO4, 353 

Fox, George (i 624-1 690) 110 

Gannett, Rev. William Channing (b. 1840) . . 289 
Gel a si an Sacramentary, compiled 492 ... 217, 246 
Germanica, Theologia, written about 1350 . 254, 284 

Gold Dust,/z/£. 1880 55> I 47 

Greaves, James Pierrepoint (1777-1842) 21, 196, 200, 

227, 239, 266, 282, 318 



PROSE SELECTIONS 369 



PAGE 

Grou, Pere Jean Nicolas (i73 T - l8o 3) i2 > 2 4> 4°, 47, 94. 

121, 136, 167, 226, 232, 256 
Guyon, Madame Jeanne Marie Bouviere de la 

Mothe (1648-1717) • • • "9» Hi. 188, 196, 202, 319 

Hale, Rev. Edward Everett (b. 1822) .... 8 

Hall, Bishop Joseph (1 574-1656) 3°9 

Havergal, Frances Ridley (1836-1879) 14. 5 1 * 94, "4» 

i45» 3 22 > 349 

Hill, Rev. Rowland (1744-1833) 201 

Hinton, James (1822-1875) . ■ 194,250,271,318,357 

Hughes, Thomas (1823-1896) 9 6 > l6 4 

Humboldt, Karl Wilhelm von (1767-1835) I3 2 , 22 °> 

2 33 

Huntington, Rev. William Reed (b. 1838) . . 34 8 

Jacobi, Friedrich Heinrich (1743-1819) . ... 91 
Juliana, Mother, written 1373 260 

Keary, Annie (1825-1879) .... 16,117,224,282 

Keble, Rev. John (1792-1866) 33> 2 9 2 

Kelty, Mary Ann (1789-1873) . 34, 62, 140, 172, 278 
Kempis, Thomas A (1380-147 1) 4 2 > 44> x 35> l6l > l66 > 188 
King, Mrs. Elizabeth Taber (1820-1856) ... 203 
Kingsley, Rev. Charles (1819-1875) . . . 151,181 

Law, Rev. William (1686-1761) 7**7, 59, 69, 79» 9 2 > T0 9, 
173, 230, 238, 270, 272, 281, 292, 304, 310, 323 
Leighton, Archbishop Robert (1611-1684) 61, 74, 98, 

171,189, 208, 231, 311, 345 
Longfellow, Rev. Samuel (1819-1892) .... 219 
Luther, Dr. Martin (148 3-1 546) . . 84, 140, 155, 311 

Macdonald, George (b. 1824) 2, 61, 68, 79, 128, 129, 162, 

202, 204, 216, 238, 355 

24 



370 INDEX OF AUTHORS 



PAGE 



Manning. Cardinal Henry Edward (1808-1892) 10, 

18, 39> 5 2 > 7 6 > 9 8 > I01 ' I0 9' 1265 T 3 0 ' I S°> l6 °' I7 °' l82 ' l87 ' 
' 229, 240, 252, 253, 296, 306, 332, 341, 346, 35 1 * 362 
Martineau, Rev. James (1805-1900) i, 6, 54, 63, 95, 102, 
176, 186, 210, 241, 251, 290, 315, 358, 363 

Master, The Divine, pub, about 1850 2 55 

Maurice, Rev. Frederick Denison (1805-1872) 28, 

37, 1 39 

Melanchthon, Dr. Philip (I497-I5 60 ) • • • • 74 
Merriam, Rev. George Spring (b. 1843) 78, 115, 202 > 2 44, 

268 

Miller, Rev. James Russell (b. 1840) 227 

Molinos, Rev. Miguel de (1627-1696) 133* W> *97, 2 39> 

286, 301, 334, 345 

More, Rev. Henry (1614-1687) 2I > 8 3 

Mountford, Rev. William (1816-1885) .... 171 

Newman, Cardinal John Henry (1801-1890) 5. 3^ 56, 
70, 100, 189, 250, 253, 273, 361 

Penington, Isaac (1617-1679) 49, 75> Il6 > I2 5> T 33> l6 3> 
186, 196, 236, 245, 2 99> 3 20 > 3 2 7, 3 28 > 33^ 344 

Plutarch (about 45-120) J 59 

Prentiss, Mrs. Elizabeth (1818-187S) 2 N- 

Pusey Rev. Edward Bouverie (1800-1882) 4, 1* 22 > 
45, 48, 67, 77, 85, 93, 95, 106, H4, 168, 183, 185, 199,^ 
225, 250, 318, 322, 327, 338, 342, 3°3 

Renty, Gaston Jean Baptiste, Baron de (1611- 

1648) * ' ' 33 , S 

Richter, Jean Paul Friedrich (1763-1825) . - 209 
Robbins, Rev. Samuel Dowse (181 2-1884) . . . 7 2 
Robertson, Rev. Frederick William (1816-1853) 13. 

36, 53, 62, 96, 112, 156, 190, 248, 259, 267, 276, 297, 3<* 



PROSE SELECTIONS 37 1 



PAGE 



Rogers Mrs. Hester Ann (i75 6 - I 794) • • • • 35 2 
Rossetti, Christina Georgina (1830-1894) 23, 166, 213 
Ruskin, John (1819-1900) 6, 9, 20, 25, 101, 246, 25^257, 

Rutherford, Rev. Samuel (1600-1661) . 25, 49, 143. 340 

Sales, St. Francis de (1567-1622) 29,57,66, 79, 108,146, 
i 7S , 183, 214, 215, 243, 2 49, 287, 3*9, 347 

SCHIMMELPENNINCK, MRS. MARY ANNE (l 77 8- 

1856) 73,118,122,283 

SCUPOLI, FATHER LORENZO (l 5 30-l6l0) I 53, 214, ^9 

Sewell, Elizabeth Missing (b. 1815) 105 

Shaw, Rev. Samuel (1635-1691) 255 

Sibbes, Rev. Richard (1 577-1635) • • • • i4i,34o 

Smiley, Sarah ¥.,p<b. 1876 267 

Smith, Mrs. Hannah Whitall, pub. 1875 3 1 , 7h 5 3, 
99, 169, 184, 195, 209, 237, 295, 301, 312, 333 
Smith, Rev. John (1618-1652) . . 60,64,154,218,329 
Spinoza, Benedict (1632-1677) • • • • • ■ • 3 2 
Stanley Dean Arthur Penrhyn (181 5-1882) 138, 

157, 191, 242, 294 

Stephen, Sarah W. (1815-1895) • 77, 165, 200, 365 
Stowe Mrs. Harriet Beecher (1812-1896) 298, 307, 

3 2 4 

Swedenborg, Emanuel (1688-1772) • • • 200,272 
Swetchine, Madame Anne Sophie (1782-1857) 

287 

Tauler, Rev. John (1290-1361) 26, 30, 70, 120, 223, 261, 

285, 303 

Taylor, Bishop Jeremy (1613-1667) . 3, I0 , *33, 3 26 
Tersteegen, Gerhard (1697-1769) 169, 189, 236, 266, 304, 

321, 361 

Thom, Rev. John Hamilton (1808-1894) 35, 8 7> I2 9, 
134, 179, 205, 221, 262, 300, 317, 3 2 8, 336, 337, 343 



INDEX OF AUTHORS 



TAGE 

Thorold, Bishop Anthony Wilson (1825-1895) 107 
Thoreau, Henry David (1817-1862) . . 156, 170,206 
Tryon, Thomas (1634-1703) 3 2 5> 34 2 

Union, Christian 3°5 

Upham, Rev. Thomas Cogswell (1797-1872) 7, 102, 119, 

198, 248, 282, 313, 324, 350 

Ware, Rev. Henry, Jr. (1794-1843) 2 7 6 

Wesley, Rev. John (1703-179 1 ) 288 

Whitney, Mrs. Adeline D. T. (b. 1824) . 265, 354 
Wilkinson, Bishop George Howard (b. 1833) . 234 

Wilson, Bishop Thomas (1663-17 55) 335 

Woman, A Poor Methodist (18th century) . . 19 

Woods, Margaret, written 1771 334 

Woolman, John (1720-177 2 ) • • 2 5> 73. 20I > 26 3>3 12 



POETICAL SELECTIONS 373 



INDEX OF AUTHORS 

❖ 

poetical ^election 

PAGE 

Ages, Hymns of the 114 

Ambrose, St. (340-397) 324 

Anonymous 13, 34, 49, 5 2 > 63, 70, 75, §5, «L T ^ 
160, 161, 181, 193, 200, 201, 217, 243, 244, 257, 262, 265, 
267, 271, 287, 293, 307, 316, 318, 331, 33 2 > 358 

Anstice, Joseph (1808-1836) 45 

Apostolic a, Lyra 339 

Arnold, Matthew (1822-1888) 2 5 

Auber, Harriet (1773-1862) T 43 

Austin, John (1613-1669) 130 

Barr, Lillie E 2 4 8 

Barry, Henry H 3 1 

Bonar, Rev. Horatius (1808-1889) 44, 83, 229, 333, 360 

Borthwick, Jane (b. 1813) W 34* 

Browne, Rev. Simon (1680-173 2 ) 200 

Browning, Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett (1809-1861) 131, 

138, 261 

Browning, S. G 54**45 

Bryant, William Cullen (1794-1878) .... 125 
Butts, Mrs. Mary Frances (b. 1836) 5 8 

c, h. w 303 

Carlyle, Thomas (1795- 1880) I2 9 



374 INDEX OF AUTHORS 



PAGE 

Catholic a, Lyra 218 

Chadwick, Rev. John White (b. 1840) .... 153 
Charles, Mrs. Elizabeth (Rundle) (1827-1896) . 115 
Clarke, Rev. James Freeman (1810-1888) ... 9 
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor (1772-1834) ... 92 

Coolidge, Susan 7, 53, 183, 296 

Corneille, Pierre (1606-1684) . . 320 

Cotterill, Mrs. Jane (1790-1825) . 122 

Cowper, William (1731-1800) .... 10, 305, 345 
Craik, Mrs. Dinah Maria (Mulock) (1826-1887) 211 
Crashaw, Rev. Richard (about 1610-1650) . . 364 
Crewdson, Mrs. Jane (1809-1863) 74 

Davison, Francis (1 575-1618) 99 

Dessler, Wolfgang Christoph (1660-1722) 231, 321 
Doddridge, Rev. Philip (1702-1751) . 2,41, 154,342 
Dwight, John Sullivan (1813-1893) 350 

Edmeston, James (1791-1867) 336 

Eliot, George (Marian Evans Cross) (1819- 

1880) 86 

Elliott, Charlotte (1789-1871) 136 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882) ... 128,151, 

194, 220 

Evans, Rev. Albert Eubule (1868) 226 

Faber, Rev. Frederick William (1815-1863) 27, 106, 
113, 178, 180, 184, 222, 292, 340, 356 

Farningham, Marianne 169 

Flemming, Paul (1609-1640) .... 133* J 76, 279 
Francke, Rev. August Hermann (1663-1727) . 335 

Gannett, Rev. William Channing (b. 1840) . . 152 

Gaskell, Rev. William (180 5-1884) 132 

Gedicke, Rev. Lampertus (1683-1735) .... 192 

Gellert, Christian Furchtegott (1715-1769) . 280 



POETICAL SELECTIONS 375 



PAGE 



42, 48, 141 

German, From the „ 2 - <q 

GILL, THOMAS HORNBLOWER (b. l8l 9 ) • • ^ 112, 359 

Gladden, Rev. Washington (b. 1836) • • • ■ * 

GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON (W^) • 2 3 
GUVON, MADAME JEANNE MARIE BOUVIERE DE LA 
MOTHE (1648-I7I7) 

Hagenbach, Karl Rudolph (1801-1874) • • ■ ^ 

Hall, Mrs. Louisa Jane (1802-1892) 343 

Hamilton, Anna E. (1846-1876) . • • • • • • « 

HAVERGAL, FRANCES RIDLEY (l8 3 6-l8 79 ) I08 > "°' 

163, 177. 2 54. 295. 355 

Haweis, Rev. Thomas (1732-1820) 212 

Heber, Bishop Reginald (1783-1826) . . • • 
Herbert, Rev. George (1593-632) -J*** 1 " 
Higginson, Thomas Wentworth (b. 1823) • • 204 
Holmes, Oliver Wendell (1809-1894) • • • • 
Hosmer, Rev. Frederick Lucian (b. 1840). . • 357 

Howells, William Dean (b. 1837) 

Ingelow, Jean (1820-1897) 5°, & 

Intelligencer, Christian ' g 

Irons, Rev. William Josiah (1812-1883) . • : 3*» 

4 

Johnson/rev.' Samuel (1822-1882) . . 29, i«, 164, 284 
Keble, Rev. John (1792-866) 6, 16, 39, S^Jft 82 9 6 

105, 126, 146, 148, 191, 208, 250, 269, 2Sb 

Ken, Bishop Thomas (1637-17") '• • • • 30 ' 
Kimball, Harriet McEwen (b. 1834) • • 95. 25S, 35« 

Lange, Rev. Joachim (1670-1744) • • • ■ 20 ' 2 °5> 235 
Larcom, Lucy (1824-1893) 7: " 



376 INDEX OF AUTHORS 



Latin MSS. of 15TH Century . 15 

Longfellow, Rev. Samuel (1819-1892) '5, 71,97, 198, 227, 



282 

Lowell, James Russell (1819-1891) . . . 190, 221 

Luther, Hymns from the Land of 107 

Lyte, Rev. Henry Francis (1793-1847) 90, 142, 175, 241 

Militant, Hymns of the Church 325 

Milton, John (1608-1674) 149, 366 

Montgomery, James (1771-1854) . 273 

More, Hannah (1745-1833) ......... 127 

More, Rev. Henry (1614-1687) ....... 64 

Neale, Rev. John Mason (1818-1866) .... 319 

Neumark, Georg (1621-1681) 37, 124 

Newman, Cardinal John Henry (1801-1890) 40, 117, 

214, 232, 253, 276 

Newton, Adelaide Leaper (1824-1854) .... 11 
Newton, Rev. John (1725-1807) 28, 116 

Packard, Caroline M . 66 

Parsons, Thomas William (1819-1892) .... 199 
Procter, Adelaide Anne (1825-1864) . . 26, 188, 277 
Puchta, Rev. Chr. Rudolph Heinrich (1808-1858) 173 
Pythagoras (570-504 b. c.) 77 

Quarles, John (1 624-1 665) . . « 346 

Richter, Christian Friedrich (1676-17 n) . . 203 

Robert II. of France (972-1031) 365 

Rodigast, Samuel (1649-1708) 259 

Rosenroth, Christian Knorr von (1 636-1 689) . 268 

Rothe, Rev. Johann Andreas (1 688-1758) . . . 167 

Rutilius, Rev. Martin (1 550-1618) 281 



POETICAL SELECTIONS ^77 



PAGE 



Saxby, Mrs. Jane Euphemia (b. 1811) .... 3 

SCHEFFLER, REV. JOHANN (ANGELUS SlLESIUS) 

(1624-1677) 93 

Schiller, Friedrich von (i759- l8o 5) .... 225 
Schmolck, Rev. Benjamin (1672-1737) - • 3<»> 3* 6 
Scudder, Eliza (1821-1896) . .... 30,88,246,315 

Sharpe's Magazine 3 2 

Shipton, Anna (1869) 156,291 

Spirit, Hymns of the i 20 , 228 

Spitta Rev. Carl Johann Philipp (1801-1859) 89, 

283, 310 

Sterling, Rev. John (1806-1844) • • • • 55> 26o > 3^3 
Stowe, Mrs. Harriet Beecher (1812-1896) . 73, 8 7 
Sutton, Henry Septimus, 1854 . . 5 r > 2I 3, 2 47 

T,B 354 

Tennyson, Alfred, Lord (1810-1892) 272 

Tersteegen, Gerhard (1697-1769) *9, 46, 179, 2 3°, 2 7°, 

289, 312, 323, 352 

Toplady, Rev. Augustus Montague (1740-1778) . 162 
Trench, Archbishop Richard Chevenix (1807- 
!886) 2 o6, 219, 252, 256, 285, 290 



Upham, Rev. Thomas Cogswell (1799-1872) . . 9 8 

Vaughan, Henry (1621-1695) 21, 209 

W.,E 207 

Waring, Anna L/etitia (b. 1820) 8, 14, 24, 43, 47, 8o , T 37, 
165, 171, 182, 195, 224, 236, 245, 298, 329, 334 
Warner, Anna Bartlett (b. 1820) ... 65, 249, 349 
Watts, Rev, Isaac (1674-174 8 ) 84,102,172,239,338,362 

Weissel, Rev. Georg (1590-1635) l 97 

Wesley, Rev. Charles (1708-1788) 35> 57, 68, 7 8 * ioo, 103, 
119, i 2 3> 135, I 39> l8 5> l8 9> x 96, 237, 238, 240, 255, 264, 
278, 288, 294, 304. 3<> 6 > 3 X 3, 3 2 7 



378 INDEX OF AUTHORS 



PAGE 

Whitney, Mrs. Adeline D. T. (b. 1824) .... 314 
Whittier, John Greenleaf (1807-1892) 17, 22, 59, 67, 
81, 109, 144, 150, 157, 166, 210, 233, 234, 251, 299, 300 

33°> 337, 361 

Williams, Rev. Isaac (1802-1865) . . . 134, iSS» 353 

Williams, Sarah (d. 1868) 174, 202, 242 

Winckler, Rev. Johann Joseph (1670-1722) . . 104 
Wordsworth, William (1770-1850) 38, 91, 159, 266, 317 
Wotton, Sir Henry (1568-1639) 274 



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